


Heiress

by Kirimari46



Series: Dishonesty [2]
Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga), Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28458939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirimari46/pseuds/Kirimari46
Summary: Oriana is back with her Black Bulls family, but not everything is settled. The revelation of the future heiress to the Clover Throne shook her whole life. While trying to survive and train for war, now Oriana also has unexpected visitors to the Clover Kingdom.
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Original Female Character(s), Zora Ideale/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Dishonesty [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084499
Kudos: 2





	1. Now that I made it weird...

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Hello! Before you start reading, I just want to give a heads up that this story is a second installment of another story! The original fic is called Dishonesty and you can find it on my profile either on or AO3. If you are interested in this fic, I recommend you read the first installment first or you will be incredibly confused the whole time. If you read Dishonesty before, then continue reading. That's it. Please enjoy!

With her velocity rush spell, Oriana sped through the corridors and staircases of the hideout. Her eyes stinged, barely open after she had already fallen asleep. She had to pinch her arm to make sure she wasn't just dreaming all along. The exhaustion was making it hard to tell dreams from one another or from reality itself. During the night, during missions, during training, during meals. The assaults to her squad hadn't stopped.

There was a raucous noise that came from the common area. Yells, things being destroyed and walls crumbling. There was no time.

"Assault Quasar."

The cells from her body shook at such speed. Oriana became nothing more than a mirage. She breathed deep and inclined her body midair towards the wall. Then, she was gone. Through the stone and grain of the walls, she took the direction which the sound was coming from, it echoed inside the walls. Oriana's ultimate speed spell. Within seconds, her body jumped from the wall and landed in the common area. Heads turned to her, her allies smiled with confidence while the enemies braced for a brawl.

"Did we wake you up from your beauty sleep?" Magna spoke.

"Very funny." Oriana retorted. "Bone Creation Magic: Fourth Bone Sword"

Two sets of blades grew from her wrists with a blue hue, her palms interposing the blades. Enemies immediately advanced towards her. She thrusted them with her blades, but they were positive and many more in numbers.

"Electric Creation Magic: Shocker Heavenly Battler." a voice cast a spell behind Oriana.

She barely had time to turn around to block an incoming blade of sparkling electricity. Only inches away from her face, Oriana's skin stinged and the hairs of her head ascending with static.

"Found you." the feminine voice spoke again before she beat her sword against Oriana's repeatedly.

The clashing of the blades resonated between them, until they reached a lock. The swords screeched with the pressure both applied to their own blade. Oriana tried to peek between the blades, further into the woman's hood, but only captured the lower of her chin.

"What do you want from us?" Oriana's voice was tight in her throat as she focused all her energy to her arms.

"You, your highness."

Oriana's eyes filled with surprise. Only two seconds later, she glanced upwards and it was already too late for her to dodge or block the electric blade that aimed for her head.

"I'm not done yet!" Asta's booming voice was incoming in their direction.

He jumped with his own black blade in hand and sliced the sword above Oriana's head.

"Finish her, Oriana!"

Oriana blinked her shock away before she pushed the woman with her bone blade. The disguised woman wasn't agile enough and was out of balance. Oriana took her chance to kick her chest and the woman fell to the ground.

"How many of them are there?!" Finral desperately screamed as drops of sweat fell from his forehead.

Oriana swiveled her head to her other side, where Magna was throwing countless balls of fire in the enemies direction. The balls followed the opponent until they hit them. Her face sparkled with an idea.

"Hey, Magna!" Oriana called. "Send one this way!"

"Oh, you're going to do that crazy shit now?" he stroked a smile.

"Yeah! Do it!"

At her signal, Magna swinged a flaming ball in her direction. As it approached, just a few centimeters from her face, Oriana ducked.

"Make it bit size, you idiot! I couldn't swallow that!"

"You're so damn picky!" he complained in return.

The second ball he sent her way, it was the size of a golf ball. The perfect size for Oriana to bite and swallow immediately. Even though it was quick and petite, her insides were burning and it left an ashy taste in her tongue. Even so, she showed a slight, close-lipped smile. Within seconds, her blades were set aflame, possessed by Magna's powerful fire mana.

"That's so awesome!" Asta had starry eyes as he admired his squadmate magic.

Her strides were loud and proud as Oriana approached the fallen hooded opponent. Before she had a chance to move, Oriana pointed her flaming blade to her and her hood flinched away from the heat.

"For every king that dies," Oriana starts. "They will crown another."

Her exposed lips were about to open and respond, but Oriana's brooding face made her hesitate.

"However, my family is irreplaceable."

"That's an incredibly bad line." the woman sneered.

An immense amount of mana enveloped Oriana. Blue and red danced mixed together around her body. The tension was palpable.

"I'm done with your little henchmen coming after me and my family. So, I'm going to make myself clear. I don't give a rats ass about the crown or my royal lineage. I don't want anything to do with it. If this is a threat to the crown, you're stupid. Your whole mission is stupid. Not only you came after the wrong person, you will also be in jail sooner or later." she paused. "Now," she lifted her arm, as the blades disintegrated."Bone Creation Magic: Morph Touch Flaming Mode."

Tendrils of fire grew from the nape of her neck. She stood tall with her head lifted. Nothing could stop her then.

"Get the fuck out of here!"

With those words, Oriana's tendrils heated and flames blasted as they set the common area of the hideout on fire. Screams and cries of help echoed before the enemy mages crawled and ran out of the Black Bulls base. Oriana smiled and laughed with Magna as the mages run for their lives.

"That's what you get, you bastards!" Magna yelled as he lifted his fist.

"Yeah, don't mess with the Black Bulls!" Asta screamed.

The heat from the flames that engulfed the hideout warmed their triumphant backs.

"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Waterball."

Water splashed and the heat grew weaker. That's when Oriana whirled around herself to see Noelle with the signature Silva look on her face as she approached the trio.

"You almost set the base on fire!" Noelle reprimanded.

"Oops. Maybe I went overboard." Oriana dropped her shoulders. "They pissed me off."

"I haven't seen you do that in a while, Oriana!" Asta screamed.

"Next time, use my water. It's less… destructive." Noelle added.

Suddenly, the group's collective expression turned dour with the new intimidating presence that stumped out of the fuming hideout.

"I recognize that ki. It's-" Asta was interrupted.

"What the hell is going on here? What happened?" Captain Yami questioned. "How many times do I have to say not to destroy the hideout?!"

His grave tone made Oriana and the others shrink in size.

"I'm sorry, Captain Yami." the group said in unisound.

"Go back to bed. I'll tell Henry to fix it tomorrow." Yami turned, but then glared over his shoulder to face his subordinates. "Next time you wake me up in the middle of the night, I'll kill you."

With those words, he was gone.

"It's almost morning…" Finral added.

As active squads to protect the Kingdom and the crown, it was no surprise that Magic Squads gathered enemies. It was not the first time Oriana and the others had been victim to those kinds of sudden attacks. However, assaulting a Magic Squad Headquarters, that was unspoken off.

"Seriously, at least they could have the decency to attack us in the afternoon." Oriana spoke.

"That's what you guys are worried about?" Noelle questioned. "We should find out more about this group. They are getting restless."

"It's the same guys aren't they? The ones that attacked Grey and Gordon two days ago?"

"And the same ones that attacked me on my day off!" Magna complained as he pointed to himself, his voice filled with annoyance.

"What are they after?" Noelle wondered as she scratched her chin.

"Maybe they are part of some group our squad arrested before." Finral suggested.

"No." Oriana spoke. "It's me they're after."

***

It had become a usual thing for Oriana and Sugawara to have a drink together every so often, in the same usual bar in the common realm. The ambiance was welcoming and the waitresses were always delightful to them. Alcohol had been her way to cope with her reality. A way to move along in a pace she could understand as she tried so hard not to stumble and fall. Sugawara was the best company. The others couldn't keep up and Oriana couldn't ever keep up with Vanessa.

Her face was etched with tiredness. She rubbed her eyes, subtly marked with purple semi circles. When the ordeal with the scoundrels that invaded her home was over and the fire was out, it was early morning and no one could sleep with the adrenaline of the fight still in their streams. By dinner time, Oriana was ready to sleep into the next morning, however, Suga invited and was paying. She would never say no to that.

"I'm worried about you." Sugawara said suddenly as he played with the mug filled with ale in his hands.

"I told you, I'm super tired because we keep getting attacked," Oriana said blatantly before she took a gulp of her beer. "I just don't understand what they want with me exactly. It's not like I gave them a chance for explanations." she shrugged.

"That's not it. You've been down lately."

This made Oriana glance up from her beverage and into Suga's downcast face. To disappoint or worry anymore people was the last thing she wanted.

"Fine. I'm tired and worried. That's it."

"Zora hasn't come back yet?"

A waitress came by to pick up the empty mugs around their table and Sugawara asked for another round. It might be another long, graceless night. Oriana cleared her throat before speaking,

"Nope. And no one knows where he is, as usual."

Oriana would be at peace if she didn't have to talk about him. In the hideout, her squadmates wouldn't bring him up, because not only it wasn't new that Zora sometimes would disappear and come back stronger and with a refreshed and polished set of skills, and secondly because it was awkward to talk about him with Oriana around. They never questioned their relationship. They made their attempts in the beginning, but eventually became too complicated for them to understand. Their voices became too loud when it came to love affairs, so Oriana always brushed them off and Zora ignored them.

"He sounds like he is so troublesome…" Sugawara said. "Don't mind me asking," he had a playful tone. "But what do you even see in him?"

Oriana put down her mug and fixed her stare into Sugawara's eyes.

"Under his mask, he's so pretty I think I'm gonna faint."

The boy stared at his friend for a few seconds before he bursted out laughing and Oriana joined him.

"That's it?" Suga exhorted mid laughter, while he was covering his mouth.

"Yup. I've been pulling hairs out for nothing more than a pretty boy." Oriana laughed.

"I think I'm going to piss myself."

"Just go to the bathroom!" Oriana urged.

Even when her friend did his detour to the bathroom, Oriana couldn't help but laugh at herself. It's not like what she said was a lie, but both of them knew there was more to it than a handsome face. However, the ale made everything funnier, even the things that would normally hurt her. She could laugh at it or she could let it destroy her. At some point, she would realize, she was doing both. Doesn't matter how many times she lied to herself, one would never delete the other. Her heart wouldn't be shielded from danger by merely laughing at her own problems. Nevertheless, it was better than if she spent her days crying and moping around.

The fresh beverages arrived before Suga did. It had been too long and Oriana wasn't feeling good about the delay. It had been more than ten minutes. Oriana ran her hand through her hair. Played with a black strand as an attempt to distract herself and drive the distress away, but it was only making it worse. Another five minutes passed and Oriana stood up and held on to the table in a way to test her stability and equilibrium. Certainly, she wasn't in such a state she couldn't hold herself.

As she stepped towards the bathroom doors, the feeling of something being terribly wrong loomed over her. She was probably just imagining it. Normally, it would be Suga who had the sharpest danger sensors. However, she had to be sure. As she took in consideration the state of things around her, she knew she would not take any chances. There was no one besides herself by the bathrooms. She sneaked closer to the male door and knocked lightly.

"Suga? Are you there?"

"Oriana?" the familiar voice called. "Oriana, come in. Please, help me. And don't laugh!"

His answer took her by surprise. Nevertheless, she felt obliged to help her friend in whatever situation he was in. Slowly, Oriana turned the doorknob and opened the door. Then she bursted into laughter with the scene presented in front of her.

"I told you not to laugh!" Sugawara's cheeks were flushed and it wasn't from the alcohol. It only got worse as Oriana laughed louder and had to hold her weight against the door frame.

"Did you seriously just get your foot stuck in a toilet?"

"May-Maybe?" he stuttered.

"How?!" Oriana questioned in a high-pitched tone.

"Just help me out!"

***

Images flashed by Oriana's closed eyes. The red moon reflected on the skin of the arms extended towards her and on the jewels of the crown she was being given. Once her fingers grazed the crown, the metal and jewels turned into a deck of cards. She looked up in an attempt to see the face of the person in front of her, but it was a faceless body. The red cover of the top card, however, called for Oriana's attention with persistence. She took the card with a shaking hand. The queen of clovers stared back at her, with an eye of each colour. Then, the image melted into a red and warm liquid.

Finally, Oriana opened her eyes to the darkness of her room. her breathing was rapid and shallow when she clasped her hands around her head. Another nightmare. Another sleepless night.

Ever since Zora disappeared, her spirits were down more often. It had been days and she had never felt so alone. She wanted to make him feel okay, but all he did was look the other way. Was there a reason why it wasn't working? Was there a reason why they were not through? Was there some hidden pathway that could lead Oriana to him? How was she supposed to make their relationship work, when he wasn't there? She was undressed of all her pride when she put herself through that explanation about her past. After that, it became obvious to Oriana that Zora didn't want to stay. It was so selfish of her, but Zora made her feel helpless. She just had to have feelings for the most stubborn and unpredictable man who has ever been born in the whole Clover Kingdom. In the whole history of the Kingdom, Oriana was quite sure.

It was unusually quiet in the Black Bulls hideout that day. A silent agreement to regroup in the common area and do nothing all day. If their captain catched them in such a state, there would be hell inside the hideout- However, if no one mentioned the cursed name, maybe he wouldn't appear and they could waste one day. Just one measly day to do absolutely nothing.

As Oriana leaned her head on the back of the sofa, she closed her eyes. The liquor danced inside Vanessa's bottle, Gordon mumbled words under his breath as he entertained himself with old pictures of his friends. Finral would sigh in boredom every once in a while. Gauche, Magna and Luck played cards mostly in silence. Charmy was probably somewhere in the kitchen cooking something with Noelle. Asta was pacing back and forward restless. His steps were the sound that Oriana chose to focus on as she let herself be engulfed by her tiredness. Just as her muscles started to relax, Asta spoke up,

"I feel like we are wasting our time! Oriana," as soon as the boy called for her, Oriana grunted in a low tone. "Let's go workout outside!"

"Right now?" her voice dragged.

"It's not like you have anything better to do!"

"You do have a point…"

"Go be a good senior and entertain your junior!" Magna shouted.

Oriana bit the inside of her cheek pensive and weighed the pros and cons of the situation, but as soon as Asta caught her eye, there was so much enthusiasm in the boy that it became impossible to say no.

"Fine."

"Alright!"

Asta waited for Oriana to get up from her comfortable position. She clasped her fingers together in front of herself before stretching her arms up. She barely had time to take the first step towards her junior before an imminent presence entered the room.

"Good, you have nothing to do today, eh?"

"Captain Yami!" Asta shouted.

Oriana turned with hesitance. Nothing favorable was to come after those words.

"I agreed on a conjoined training with prickly queen today."

"The Blue Rose Knights?" Finral asked.

"That's the squad with strong women, right?" Luck suddenly abandoned his cards and jumped to his feet. "Can't wait for a brawl!"

Oriana's skin crawled. Last time there was a conjoined training session, the world around her collapsed. Certainly, the training wouldn't be in the Clover Castle again. Hopefully.

"Get your shit, we're heading out." Yami ordered. "Finral."

"I know, I know. I'll open a portal."

"I'll go call Noelle and Charmy." Asta ran off the common area.

It was amazing how the slumbiness in the room was replaced for a new life as soon as Captain Yami arrived.

"You've been speaking with Captain Charlotte, have you Captain?" Vanessa rested her hands on her hips.

"We talked after the Captain's meeting." Yami spoke. "I thought she was going to say how much she hates me again and break my tiny heart of glass." there was fake brittleness in his voice and his face had an over-exaggerated expression of agony.

Oriana laughed at the sudden change in demeanour, but that didn't mean she hadn't understood the words between the lines.

"How interesting." Vanessa hummed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing."

Vanessa swayed in Oriana's direction and linked their arms. The rest of the squad followed them outside, but meanwhile, they whispered to each other,

"Wait," Oriana spoke in disbelief. "He hasn't noticed it yet?"

"Nope."

"How blind can he possibly be?"

***

The Rose Knights base was as enormous as it was clean and charming. The feminine touch and cleanliness of every corner made the base seem luxurious without being tacky. The smell of perfume was a change from the stink of alcohol and smoke drenched in the walls of the Black Bulls hideout. The new group stood out like a sore thumb. Their darker palettes contracted with the whites and blues and the other fresh colours. Oriana was taking mental notes while pacing the corridors. Maybe it was time for the Black Bulls hideout to have a redecoration. Something more than walls falling apart and probably more than just one bathroom and the shared baths. She would have to discuss the matter with Henry. Oriana had always been prone to like her privacy.

The captains of both squads walked in front of the large group. Oriana didn't make out the words they exchanged, but the sudden shrieks of Captain Charlotte's voice filled the mostly silenced corridors every once in a while. There were two options at that time, either Captain Yami was truly oblivious or he was playing some kind of long game. Meanwhile, Vanessa and Oriana were entertained while watching the couple discuss back and forward with the eventual embarrassment of Captain Charlotte.  
Upon arriving in the gardens, members of the homing squad awaited them and Captain Charlotte rapidly recovered her composed manner while she divided the squads into training groups. Captain Yami had his usual bored expression and didn't interrupt or object to the other Captain's decisions. Asta, Magna, Noelle and Oriana formed a group for the Black Bulls. In front of them, a group for the Rose Knights lined up. Oriana bit the inside of her cheek. Even though she recognized some of the faces from previous missions, especially from the elf incident, she couldn't call for any of their names, however the glowing colors of the grimoires by their sides showed off what kind of magic they possessed. Two of the grimoires were the same as Noelle's, another glowed an orangy brown tone and the last one had an icy undertone of blue.

"Let's get this over with." said the one with the brown grimoire.

"Agreed." Magna replied with some tension in his voice.

Imitating the group in front of them, the Black Bulls grimoires ascended to their sides. The girl with the brown grimoire was the first to break the space between both groups with her mana. Asta and Oriana were fast to pull out their swords while Noelle enveloped Magna and herself in a shield of water.

"Have some of this!" Magna yelled before he started to throw balls made of fire.

The girl in front of Oriana was using a similar spell to Noelle's and protecting her squadmates with shields of water, however in a smaller proportion than Noelle's cradle. She had to be the first to go. As she focused her own mana onto her blades, the bone lightened with a blue tone. The second water user wouldn't make it an effortless battle. As soon as Oriana advanced towards the mage, blasts of water magic were shot in her direction and created obstacles, however, Noelle assisted with the approach and directed water blasts towards the mage in front of her.

"I'm here yoo, you know?" Noelle said as she threw her side pony over her shoulder.

"Nicely done, Noelle!" Oriana cheered.

Oriana took advantage of the situation to swing her arm in true aim towards the water user. The swing of mana easily broke the water shield and made the girl fall to her feet. In result, the water shields of the remaining opponents were gone. Seconds later, the ice user was also taken down by Magna. Only an earth user and a water user remained on the other side. The first gritted her teeth in frustration while the second struggled to face Noelle on a one on one.

As she threw her hands to the ground, the earth user made the ground beneath the Black Bulls shake. Magna was swift to react. With his baseball bat in flames, he threw several balls of fire in the mage direction. His step faltered and his aim wasn't true. However, the balls stopped right when they passed the earth user and floated above her before latching towards her again.

"What do you think of that?" Magna boasted.

Soon, Noelle's opponent also fell to the ground. The Black Bulls were victorious in their first round. Magna's arm pumped in the air with his palms directed to each of the Black Bulls by his side. Oriana shook her blades off before she slapped her palm against Magna's. Noelle was more reluctant, but complied to the act of celebration. Suddenly, Oriana's hears almost busted with the scream from her junior,

"I didn't get to do anything!" Asta yelled on the top of his lungs.

His squadmates laughed.

"You have to be faster next time. Shrimpsta!"

***

Her lungs were on fire by the end of the evening. The sky was painted in warm colours and no one could get on their feet by then. Oriana considered that afternoon a full success. Not only did she have the chance to train with different mages and test her newest abilities, it also made everything else fade away. It had been long since she had the chance to block out the rest of her first world problems.

Promptly, Oriana left the warmth of the floor after a hot sunny day and a colder breeze brushed her skin. She wanted to get home before the night got too cold.

"Has anyone seen Captain Yami?" Finral asked while he scratched his head. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"Me neither." Asta replied.

"Making royalty wait like I have nothing better to do." Noelle's tone was dismissive and rude as usual.

"Should we look for him?" Oriana suggested. "I want to go home as well."

"Yes, you should leave," the woman Oriana had fought in the first round and whose name she had learned to be Sol was crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Captain Charlotte is missing too. She probably got tired of dealing with rascals."

"Who are you calling rascals, you giant?" Magna shouted.

Oriana left the argument to Magna as she was too tired to speak out loud. With Finral and Asta behind her, she led the trio through the patio area in search of their Captain. Her movements were lazy as she almost dragged her feet. She grunted in every turn to empty corridors. Until finally, over the steps of the group, mumbling voices caught Oriana's attention. She was certain that one of them was a man's voice and who else but Yami at that point. She picked up her pace slightly. Upon reaching the following turn, Oriana peeked to the other side to find the one and only Captain Yami leaning on Captain Charlotte against a wall. Her face was red as a tomato with the closeness between them. Oriana froze and her brows shot upwards. She must have gasped too loud as the heads of both Captains turned in her direction. The glares made Oriana hide herself behind the wall. Finral and Asta halted their step unexpectedly, as they almost bumped into Oriana.

"What are you-" Finral's sentence was cut-off.

"Go back, just go. Absolutely nothing to see, c'mon move it, move it." Oriana said frantically, her voice barely a whisper as she pushed her squadmates back from where they came from.

"Wait, Oriana," Asta pleaded.

The mage kept a bowed head while she pushed her squadmates. Until the moment a strong hand gripped her head and lifted Oriana from the ground. A cry left her lips due to the pressure applied to her temples.

"What do we have here?" Captain Yami's presence filled the hallway like a mountain.

"I saw nothing! Nothing at all!" Oriana struggled to free herself from Yami's grip.

Captain Yami might have kept his cool, but there was no telling who was more embarrassed. Either Captain Charlotte's averting eyes and blushed face or Oriana's frantic.

"Of course you didn't. There was nothing to see," Yami put Oriana down and freed the woman from his grasp. "Kids these days are so strange."

"Now that I made it weird, can we go home?" Oriana said as she massaged the sides of her head.

Finral and Asta exchanged a look and sneered. There was no telling what Oriana might have seen that left her so flustered. It was a rare sight indeed. However, in the future to come, Oriana would just pretend nothing happened and not tell a soul. Meanwhile, she would also be proud of her Captain. He was making his moves after all.

***

A/N:

Guess who's back, back again. Oriana is back, back again. And angst came with her.

This chapter was basically me having fun and introducing the plot in the midst of it. The fillers gave me the idea of the Black Bulls and Blue Rose Knights conjoined training and since there was no follow up to that, I came through for you. And I wanted to do some content on Yami and Charlotte. They are the best ship in Black Clover, in my opinion. I just had to.

I totally stole the idea of Oriana being able to eat mana and fuse it with her own from Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers. So if it seemed familiar to you, that's why, hahaha. I did say Oriana had other habilities I never showcased before, how better way to do so than in the very beginning of the first chapter of the second installment am I right?

Zora is coming sooner than you think and so are the rest of the Karasuno boys! Sit tight and enjoy the ride.

You are probably reading this after midnight, so I wish you a Happy New Year and a better 2021!


	2. You scared me!

The outside was dark. Only the light of the torches illuminated the corridors of the Black Bulls base. The adrenaline in Oriana's veins had dissipated and her body started to cool down. As she walked by the wide open windows in the corridors, the cold wind made her shiver ever so slightly.

"It surely was a productive day!" Vanessa cheered, one hand rested on her hip when facing the other women.

"It really was!" Noelle agreed. "The Rose Knights squad are immensely capable."

"I-It was so em-embarrassing." Grey's voice shaked.

Vanessa rested a comforting hand on Grey's shoulder, however this only caused the woman to hide her face deeper into her palms.

"I'm totally beat. I just want my bed." Oriana said.

"Want a snack for bed, la?" Charmy twirled in front of the group.

"We just had dinner…" Oriana laughed.

"What about the second dinner?"

"How does she eat so much?" Noelle wondered.

It was truly a mystery yet to be solved. Charmy was such a tiny creature with a bottomless stomach. Not even Asta could keep up with her. As they followed the corridor, one by one, the group reached each one's bedroom doors and said their good-nights. Oriana opened the door to her room as she waved to Noelle, which room was right in front of hers. She was rubbing her eye as she closed the door and then gasped in surprise and took a step back as she tightened her fists. In her bed was a lean figure with spiky red hair and the serenest face she had ever seen. Zora was back. In her bed. Asleep. With one of her horror novels on his lap. Her shoulders dropped. Oriana swiveled her head to her desk and his mask layed there. She glanced at the sleeping man once again. She couldn't take her eyes off him. If the room was in flames, she wouldn't even notice.

"What's with the face?" his voice was croaky with slumber.

He opened one single eye towards Oriana.

"You scared me!"

"Well, I am naturally terrifying."

She bit the inside of her cheek, uncertain of what to say. If she should say anything at all. Her heart skipped a beat everytime he moved, everytime he spoke. Three words were at the tip of her tongue. Oriana had to change her weight to one leg in an attempt to control the urge to fling herself into his had to be a reason for Zora to go immediately to her room, on the same day he arrived from his journey. Would it be possible that they would finally walk in the same direction together?

"Nobody's seen you in days." Oriana paused. "It's been lonely."

There was still so much in him and her. So much to say.

"Is that blood?" he asked, his brows furrowed in worry.

"...I don't think so?" she answered as she browsed her skin for any injuries.

He swinged his long legs off the bed and walked towards her. Silently, he grabbed her arm and turned the inside of her elbow upwards. His touch was so gentle and careful. There was a gash of red in her skin. One single drop made its way down her arm.

"I didn't even notice it."

"You have an emergency kit here somewhere, right?" he searched for her eyes.

"Yes, in the last drawer in the desk."

As he rushed to her desk, Oriana sat in the edge of the bed. After training sessions, Oriana would normally tend to her own smaller injuries by herself. There was never a need for fuss over cuts and bruises. One time, she noticed Zora neglected his own injuries all together. She offered to help him. It had become an habit. That time, roles were reversed. He sat next to her and asked her to extend her arm for him. His hands were warm in comparison to her chilly skin. The cut didn't hurt, however it stinged when the cold alcohol rubbed against it. She peered over to his unmasked face. His eyes were focused on her arm only. She took that moment to take his features in. A mental picture like the first time she saw him without his mask on. His face and arms had discolorations, At that distance, she spotted small bruises that tainted his skin green and yellow.

"What about you? Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Why are there bruises all over your face, then?"

He had either forgotten his mask wasn't covering his face or he didn't feel any pain from the bruises. Oriana raised her hand to his face. He didn't react when her fingers caressed one of the small bruises.

"It happened while I trained."

"Did the training involve harassing a noble that was stronger than he looked?" she scoffed.

He paused his movement and his face relaxed under her touch.

"Yeah…" he admitted. "You've been training hard too."

"We trained with the Blue Rose Knights today."

"I see."

He finished bandaging Oriana's arm and remained seated next to her. He was close, but he could be closer. There was still a silence between them. Maybe that was the perfect time to scream it out. How much she missed him. How she loved him.

"I'm sorry," he started. "I was a big asshole. I should learn to shut up sometimes."

The touch in her arm lingered.

"I'm sorry too. I should have told you before."

"No," his voice was heavy with regret. "I said terrible things to you. I was so frustrated, so disappointed. I didn't see how much I was hurting you."

His agonize eyes browsed her face. She opened up a smile.

"I was the one who disappointed you, remember?"

"At the time, I thought you deserved it for that reason too. But you didn't. You don't." he paused to take a deep breath. His voice lowered. "I felt dislocated when I heard about your background." he averted his eyes to her bandaged arm. "I would never hate you for being a royal. It was much too late for that. Because I already loved you. I was pissed because the first thing that came through my mind was that you hid your past from me so I wouldn't hate you. I could never hate you." Zora lifted his eyes to hers in the last sentence.

His words were so genuine to her ears. He was never a liar.

"And then this idiot went on his little stroll to let go of some steam,"

Oriana laughed at the phrasing.

"This time was different. It was like I could hear your voice in my head. It called out to me. It was seriously freaky."

"You are a big idiot indeed." she scoffed.

"I really am. But I returned as soon as I realized that."

They laughed together and then silence settled once more. His hands slid down her arm until they reached her fingers. His hand played with hers as if he was trying to figure out what to say next. Then, his hand froze and he spoke,

"Do you even still love me?"

Her eyes still fixated on his, even though he then stared at their conjoined hands. He was never one to be afraid, but in that time, his eyes were frightful.

"I didn't think I would have to answer that." she tightened the grip around his hand. "But since we are for confessions today, I guess it's my turn." his hopeful eyes met hers. "Ever since the Elf incident, even before I escaped to the South, things were getting piled up in my head. I… I felt like I was drowning in my own thoughts. In my regrets. I kept telling lies to everyone to keep myself from exploding in front of someone. But in every moment you were present, you were the hand that reached out to me. The one who reminded me that I had to breathe. Zora, I told you this already, but when you went to the South for me, that's when I knew where my home was."

"Here. With me." he repeated her words from all those weeks ago.

She grinned as her eyes filled with the joyous emotions of the moment. Zora leaned closer to her,

"Please, don't cry." his own words were strangled with emotion.

He raised his free hand to her face and caught a single tear that slided down her cheek. He leaned closer, until his lips met hers. It was a slow kiss filled with passion. Their lips melted together. His hand clinged to her face and pulled her even closer as he deepened the kiss.

Before the heat between them became more than they could handle, Zora still had one more thing to say. He separated his lips from hers, but he spoke near her face. So close, his breath hit her skin.

"Please don't lie to me again. I can't take it."

"There will be no more lies between us. Never again." Oriana reassured.

Zora's face opened up a smile before he captured her lips on his.

***

A/N:

It's a shorter chapter than usual, but it's so precious. Their reunion it's so special that I wanted to dedicate one chapter just for them. 

If you think you're happy about them coming back together, believe me, you're not happier than I am. It made me feel all sort of soft feelings. So happy for them, my babies.

Okay, the my sappy self is done and over.

The next chapter is enormous to compensate this one. I'm not joking, it's ten pages long, but it's mostly dialogue. I saw this meme on instagram that called out the writers that spend more time writing fanfiction than their actual WIP and I felt SO CALLED OUT. There was absolutely no need, but here I am with a ten long page chapter for my fic.


	3. Bitterness is ugly on you

Oriana let out a long yawn as soon as she entered the dining area. The room smelled of Charmy's delicious delicacies and her stomach rumbled restless. As soon as she delivered one of the mugs she was carrying, filled with fresh hot coffee, to Zora, Oriana rubbed her eyes before she took the only seat available next to Gauche and facing Vanessa. The environment was lively as usual for the Black Bulls hideout, even if Oriana tried to wish her friends a good morning, her voice would be blocked by all the chatter. However, it was only after Asta and Noelle arrived for breakfast that chaos settled in.

"Good morning everyone!" Asta yelled, his voice baffled all the others. "Oh, Zora is back."

"About time," Noelle commented as she flicked her side pony off her shoulder. "We've been training without you, just so you know."

Both sat on the next table over.

"Sounds like you brats missed me or something."

"You wish." Noelle kept her chin lifted.

"Here, I brought you two something."

Everyone's attention turned to that interaction. Zora grabbed something miniscule from his pocket and threw it towards the youngsters

"That's disgusting!" Asta yelled as soon as the smell of the stiking bugs reached his nostrils.

"What the hell are you doing? I'm a royal you know!"

"And right as I wake up. I didn't deserve that."

His usual shrill laugh escaped between his sharp teeth.

"Hey, Charmy, is breakfast coming or what?" Magna demanded.

"La!" she answered as she ordered her fluffy sheep to serve the plates.

Oriana sipped her coffee with blithe marked on her face as she waited her turn. In front of her, Vanessa hummed a tune. It was a happy tune. A mischievous smile to accompany it. As her humming continued, the tune started to sound familiar to Oriana. If she didn't know any better, she would've guessed it was one of those Britney Spears songs herself, Sugawara, Nishinoya and Tanaka would sing while she helped the boys clean the volleyball gym. There was only one problem with that. There was no way Vanessa had ever heard of that song. It was impossible. Or was it? Right when Oriana was ready to dismiss it as a coincidence, Vanessa murmurs the following words,

"My loneliness - is killing me. I must confess - I still believe… Still believe!" Vanessa was getting more into it as she remembered the lyrics.

"Vanessa?" Oriana interrupted her moment. The woman's attention turned to her. "Where did hear that?"

"Dear Oriana, don't act coy now. You were the one who taught me."

Oriana widened her eyes in surprise and her eyebrows shot upwards.

"No, I didn't." she said as she held Vanessa's gaze.

"Are you serious? You and your friend bursted in one night pissed drunk singing this song on repeat for a good hour."

"No, we didn't."

"You seriously don't remember?"

Oriana shook her head.

"I think I remember," Finral added. "I was on my way to get some water and heard a party downstairs. Sorry I was too tired to join you." he winked.

"That did not happen." Oriana insisted.

"Your face is actually red." Vanessa lifted her hand to hide her laugh.

There were more laughing noises surrounding the table. When Oriana swiveled her head, Zora and Magna were snickering to the side. Grey was also red for some reason. Asta couldn't hold it in for long as he bursted out laughing, when he did, so did Magna and Zora.

"You've been making quite the fool of yourself!" Zora boasted.

"I wish I could have seen that!" Magna laughed.

"Just shut up already!" Oriana reprimanded. "I remember nothing, so it didn't happen."

"You are making too much of a raucous. How am I supposed to appreciate Marie's beauty with all this noise?" Gauche spoke.

"La!" Charmy exclaimed when she put Oriana's and Vanessa's plate in front of them. "Laughing is always better with food on the table!"

"It was quite a view. They danced around and sang completely out of tune. I can't believe you don't remember. It was so much fun." Vanessa's tone was innocent, but it only caused the guys to laugh harder.

"Vanessa!" Oriana called. "You are supposed to be on my side!" she leaned to the older woman. Her face burned at every passing second.

"So you do remember?"

"No, I don't!"

Before the conversation continued and blew Oriana's head off, Captain Yami's presence filled the room. As Oriana glanced at the other side of the table, the laughs subdued, but their bodies were still trembling and they had to clasp their mouths shut in an attempt to control their laugh.

Oriana considered the possibility that those three might share one single brain cell.

"You kids are loud in the morning." Captain Yami shook his head slowly as he exhaled the smoke from his cigarette. "Good, you are awake already." he glanced in Oriana's direction.

There was absolutely nothing favorable that could come after those words. Oriana wished she could just fall on her comfortable bed again. However, her morning was long from over. She didn't even have the time to touch her food before an order was placed.

"A guy from the Coral Peacocks is at the harbor and needs backup. Go help him."

There was a moment of silence as Oriana processed what was said.

"That's weird. If it's someone from the Coral Peacocks, why don't call for backup from their own squad?"

"They didn't give details. But they asked for you in specific."

Heads turned in her direction.

"They summoned your underling and you didn't even question it?" Oriana dropped her shoulders in defeat.

"It's your problem, not mine." he puffed more smoke before he spoke again. "It's probably nothing serious anyways." his tone was dismissive.

"Can I at least finish my breakfast?"

"Do as you want."

Oriana sighed before she took the spoon into her hand. What could they want from her? At that time in the morning?

"Isn't your singing friend from the Coral Peacocks?" Vanessa wondered as she chewed her own food.

"Sugawara? Yeah, he is."

"Maybe it's him asking for your backup."

"That's possible. But what is he doing that he needs my help specifically?"

"Tell me all about it when you find out."

***

When the harbor came into view, Oriana made her descend. It was lively that day with families and groups of friends. The market was open and the smell of fresh caught fish filled the air. It must had been the high season for a place in the common realm to be so busy. However, it made the task to find a pink robe in the crowd that more difficult. She hoped Vanessa's theory was correct and that was Sugawara who called for her. It would be extremely awkward otherwise and it was still too early to deal with any of that.

Oriana's eyes darted from side to side, until she caught her name in the crowd.

"Oriana!"

She turned, but didn't recognize any of the faces. Then, it was like a clearing opened for her eyes only. Separated from the crowd, there was a waving arm. As she got closer, she recognized Sugawara's grey hair. He wasn't alone. Behind him, a sizable group of people awaited her. She froze in place as she peered at their friendly faces and her mouth hung open.

"You took your sweet time!" Sugawara said.

However, Oriana didn't know how to react or what to say to the people standing behind her friend. One of them approached and greeted her with a tight hug.

"I missed you so much." Daichi whispered into her ear.

Without a word, Oriana lightly tapped Daichi's back.

"Is she okay?" Yachi asked.

"She's fine. Give her a moment." Sugawara waved dismissively.

"What are you guys doing here?" her eyes were still in a daze.

"It's summer vacation! We came to visit!" Hinata yelled, excitement filled his voice.

"Summer… vacation," Oriana murmured.

Her mouth still hung open while she tried to process all the smiley faces that patted her back and greeted her with joy. Sugawara had a troubling look on his face as well. She had so many words to say and she couldn't stammer any of them.

"What do we do with these guys?" Sugawara scratched his chin.

"I… How… did you?"

"How did I find them here? Pure coincidence." he answered. "It was my squads turn to patrol the market."

"...Right."

"Aren't you happy to see us?" Hinata asked with a loomy expression on his face.

"That's… that's not the issue." Oriana said, then pointed to Daichi, Kiyoko and Asahi. "Aren't you three suposed to graduate by now?" she asked as she slowly woke up from her daze.

"We are. Even college students have summer vacation." Daichi explained.

Oriana nodded along. A second later, her voice was more stern as she spoke,

"And you guys thought the best place to spend your summer vacation was in the Clover Kingdom. After we told you we are preparing for war?"

Silence floated around the group and their expressions turned grim. It was apparent none of them thought about that plan all the way through and Sugawara was trying to come up with a way to tell them exactly the same thing. The mages took time to discuss what to do with them. For better or for worse, the boat headed for the South already left that day. They would need a place to stay nevertheless. They decided to head over the Black Bulls hideout. It was closer and they couldn't fly with such a large group. Every single member of Karasuno's volleyball team was there. Oriana had to trust that Captain Yami would have a better judgement of the situation and he could help somehow. With the sense she had of her Captain, Oriana was certain there would be only two options. He would take everyone in and throw some kind of party or he would tell them to go back to the South. Oriana was hopeful for the latter. It was too dangerous for them to be there.

Despite Oriana's bilious face and Sugawara troubled demeanor, the group was still marvelled by everything around them. As they exclaimed in excitement and jumped around, Oriana knew she would have to break their eager hearts. It was for the best.

As soon as the doors of the hideout closed, the group gazed around with curiosity. She led them to the common area where some of the mages glanced at the group confused.

"Who are these kids?" Magna asked.

"Oh, wow! You are all magic people?!" Hinata jumped.

"This place is seriously cool!" Nishinoya yelled.

Oriana grabbed the collar of their shirts and stopped them from exploring any further.

"Where do you think you are going?" her voice hadn't shifted from her severe tone. "Now, you are going to open your ears." she cleared her throat. "I don't understand what part of 'war' made you visualize 'summer vacation', but this is by far the most irresponsible stunt you have ever pulled. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? Or how busy me and Sugawara are? You just come here, with no notice. What if Suga didn't find you? What if he wasn't patrolling the harbor today? You don't have any magic or means to defend yourselves and there are dangerous people out there."

No one dared to interrupt her. Oriana's grip in the boys shirts balled into fits as she was trying her best not to let her tears spill.

"And we promised we would visit the South when this was over, didn't we?" a sob escaped her lips as she dropped her shoulders. "You guys are idiots. We are in war here so we can protect all of you in the South." as her tone softened, she let go of the fabric of their shirts. "I missed you guys so much." Oriana finally said at the same time she wrapped her arms around the guys shoulders and hugged them from the back. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

The faces around her lit up as they gathered around her as well as Sugawara. It would be one more preoccupation for them. One more thing to have in consideration in the following hours. Despite all of her worries, nothing could beat the joy of seeing old friends that shared the same old bonds. They were her family too, after all.

"And for the millionth time," Oriana said as she rubbed her tears away. "We're Magic Knights, not magic people. We cast spells, not do magic tricks."

"Speaking of magic tricks, can you show us some more?" Tanaka asked.

"Seriously?" Sugawara and Oriana sighed at the same time.

"What a lovely scene! These are your friends from the South! They are all so cute!" Vanessa walked on the group and instantly started to pinch Kageyama's cheek.

"I didn't know you had such cute friends, Oriana," Finral made his cue to Kiyoko's and Yachi's side. "Let me present myself, I'm Finral Roulacase and I am at your-" he was interrupted when Oriana shoved him aside.

"Don't even think about it." she warned.

"Does this mean we can stay?" Hinata had starry eyes as he glanced up to Sugawara and Oriana.

They exchanged looks. Oriana shifted her weight to one leg and Sugawara crossed his arms. It was not exactly something one could pull unnoticed. Maybe they could stay at an inn. However, there was nowhere they would accept such a large group without previous booking. They also packed light and none of them carried camping gear. There was one option Oriana wasn't sure if it would be a acceptable idea at all. It would depend on the Captain's judgment.

"Just ask Henry about it," Zora walked over to the group and rested his elbow on Oriana's shoulder. "It's his house isn't it?"

"Well, yes. But," Oriana turned to Finral. "Where's Captain Yami?"

"He made me open a portal to the bathroom fifteen minutes ago, he's probably still there." the man pinched his nose.

Oriana squinted her eyes shut, hard, for a moment. The scenario was one of disgust.

"I remember you," Daichi showed a close lipped smile. "Zora, correct?" he extended his hand in the other man's direction.

"It's 'cool masked guy' for you kids." Zora responded before he shook Daichi's hand.

Oriana and Sugawara left the group to get acquainted and made their way to the mirror where they could communicate with Henry without any withdrawal. Oriana peered over her shoulder. Both of her worlds that had just collided. It gave her a tingle under her skin and made her bite the inside of her cheek. Sugawara slowed his step and whispered to his friend,

"So, your black robed rebel came back, huh?"

"Black… Robed… Rebel?" Oriana scoffed.

"He isn't exactly prince charming, now, is he?" he showed a half-smile. "You are telling me the details later."

Oriana cleared her throat.

"Not happening."

What they concluded from their little meeting with Henry was that they were not enough rooms for everyone. Which left them with two options, they would have to share rooms or they could divide the group and the other half could sleep in whatever rooms were available in the Coral Peacocks base. Sugawara assured his captain would be fine with it and at that point, Captain Yami had no other choice but to accept the fact that his hideout was filled with more teeangers.

"Oi!" Sugawara called for the group's attention. "Listen up, we have to divide the group. There isn't enough space for all of you here and neither would there be in my Squads base."

"Unless you want to share rooms, but let me tell you, they aren't very big."

However, they were interrupted.

"Wait, before that…" Asahi spoke up.

He was scratching the back of his head and averted his eyes to the floor eyes. The rest of the boys also had a downcast look on their faces.

"We should apologize to the both of you. And to everyone of your, uhm, squad. We wanted to surprise you and didn't really plan this through. We're sorry."

"We're very sorry!" the group bowed their heads to Oriana and Sugawara.

On their end, looks were exchanged and smiles opened.

"What is done is done." Oriana started, which made some of the boys peek towards them.

"Besides, since you're here, we might as well give you a memorable summer vacation." Sugawara shrugged.

"For real?" Nishinoya exclaimed.

"Yeah, why not." Oriana dropped her shoulders.

Around the room ran the awareness of why they shouldn't. Only the mages could have a slight idea of how much of a terrible idea that would be. They would have to perceive those kids as normal citizens they had to protect. And were crashing their hideout meanwhile.

"Well, speaking of which,"

Oriana strolled to the group of travelers and dragged Hinata, Kageyama, Kiyoko, Yachi, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima apart from the rest.

"They can stay here and you," she pointed to Suga. "Can take the rest."

"Hey, what gives? You're hogging all the first years and Kiyoko!" his voice was filled with frustration as he pointed an accusatory finger towards Oriana.

"Oh, am I? What a coincidence."

"How about I take Yamaguchi and Tsukishima and you get Tanaka and Nishinoya?"

"You think this place isn't chaotic enough? I can't take all the feral ones."

Both continued to argue about the division of the group and ignored everyone else's presence in the process.

"Uhm… Can't we decide ourselves?" Kinoshita intervened with his hand in the air.

"Well, of course you can!" Sugawara laughed it off.

"Now they're pretending it didn't happen." Tsukishima commented.

"We can still hear you!" Oriana said. "Also, be considerate. We will have to take care of you. Have mercy."

In the end, the division was as it follows: Daichi, Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and Kinoshita stayed with Oriana and the Black Bulls. Meanwhile, Asahi, Kiyoko, Yachi, Ennoshita, Narita, Tanaka and Nishinoya would go with Sugawara to the Coral Peacocks' base.

"If you have Ennoshita and I have Daichi, we should be able to control them easily." Oriana mumbled.

"Yeah, you're right. This could actually work." Sugawara mumbled back.

"What are you whispering over there?"

Oriana cleared her throat.

"Listen, if you are to stay here, there's something I should tell you." she started. "We've been ambushed lately by a group of fiends for the last few weeks. Not long ago, they were idiotic enough to ambush our hideout during the night. That said, if there is any noise and you ponder about the possibility that we are under attack, you stay in your rooms until we tell you otherwise. Don't try to join us or help us, you will only be in the way." Oriana held Hinata's and Kageyama's gaze with her own. "You hear me?"

"Why is she looking at us?" Hinata leaned to whisper in Kageyama's direction. The other boy shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you our mother or something?" Tsukishima scoffed.

Oriana glared at the boy and proceeded.

"Also, don't piss your pants when you meet Captain Yami. He isn't as dreadful as he looks."

"That guy is terrifying…" Suga mumbled.

"Yeah, but he isn't a bad guy. Just a little… intense." Vanessa tried to back up.

"Captain Yami is pretty scary…" Asta crossed his arms in front of his chest. "But he's really cool! I wanna be like him!" he lifted a fist in the air with all the enthusiasm.

The room was filled with questions the newcomers made to the Magic Knights. On the other hand, they were quite enthusiastic to explain how their magic worked. Oriana took this opportunity to sneak to Zora's side.

"Did you put them up for that apology earlier?"

"I may have suggested it." he rested a hand on his hip.

The way she knew that man, it was way more than a suggestion. He probably reprimanded them even more than she did. Oriana lifted her eyes to his,

"Don't harass them. They're just kids." she pleaded.

"What are you talking about?" he averted his eyes. "I didn't do anything."

Their conversation was interrupted.

"Since you guys are staying here, what do you say of a little tour?" Magna lifted his chin to the new comers.

"Yeah!" Hinata and Yamaguchi cheered.

"I wanna go too!" Asta pleaded.

"You already had your tour."

"I'm coming too. Just making sure you don't mess with them too much." Oriana shifted her weight to the other leg.

"What are you talking about? I'm a great senior!" Magna punched his own chest with pride.

Since everyone was still there, the whole group tagged along. Only the Black Bulls mages, besides Magna, Asta and Oriana, were left in the common area. Those were to be interesting days to come. Or a headache, as Oriana foretold in her mind.

***

The rest of the morning was spent running after Magna as he showed off all the common areas of the hideout. Later on, each of the boys who were to stay there would be assigned their own room, but that was something they could take care of later.

At whatever angle Oriana would glance at the living area, there were excited faces and big effortless grins. That environment would be her reality for the following weeks. She wanted to take it all in. She couldn't repress her worries inside her heart, however, she wanted to believe it would be okay. That she didn't make the wrong choice. Even Captain Yami agreed to have the boys over for a few weeks. He honestly didn't care about it. Oriana was sure her Captain was just a fan of a room filled with life and laughter. The more, the merrier kind of thing. In spite of the fact that he would never admit to it, his eagerness for a good excuse for a barbeque outside and liters and liters of ale poured down the throat was obvious to Oriana. He would accept the whole team in his hideout if there were enough room for everyone.

"This place is absolutely awesome!" Tanaka yelled.

"You're not even staying here, remember?" Kinoshita reminded his teammate.

"Who is trading with me? Hinata?"

"What? No way! I want to help feed the monsters!"

"In no way shape or form I'm letting you do that." Oriana's stentorian tone interrupted their altercation. "We have Asta for that:"

"Yeah, it's super fun! Minus when they actually try to eat me." Asta said as he pumped his fists in the air.

Some of the faces turned dour from that information, however Hinata didn't look fazed at all.

"But they haven't actually eaten you, so it's fine." Magna said dismissively.

"I want to try!" Hinata insisted.

"I said no!" Oriana replied as she made her way to the couch.

She let her body sit deeper into a lousy position. How was Oriana going to babysit those kids and work at the same time? She was sure she would never have kids of her own after that summer. She sighed with her eyes closed.

"Yo." Daichi's voice made Oriana lift her lids. "Can you tell us more about the attack on your home, the one you mentioned earlier? It's safe for us to be here, right?"

Always the worried guy. He wasn't even preoccupied with himself, from the way he glanced towards his juniors, Oriana could tell he had them in his mind when he made that question.

"Of course. You deserve to know since you're staying here for now."

The group rested on the couch and the floor. Quickly Oriana was surrounded with eager faces that paid attention to every word of her story. She straightened her back and cleared her throat.

"For the last couple of weeks, our squad has been attacked by a group of unknown mages. I told you this much already." she paused to clear her throat. "They started to ambush our missions or our training sessions. Last time, they actually invaded our hideout during the night. They all wear hoods to hide their identities and we've tried to peek under the hoods during battles, but it's always to no avail. However, that night I found out what they wanted from us. It's me they want, because, as of right now, I am the Heiress to the Clover Kingdom."

The silence in the room was heavy. Oriana tried to take a deep breath, but her chest was so heavy. She couldn't face the blinking faces that fixated her figure. This was information only the Magic Knights and the Calmreich family knew about. They were outsiders, but they were also her family. People she trusted.

A hand rested on Oriana's shoulder. As she peered to her side, Daichi nodded with assertiveness. His confident smile granted her the courage to continue.. She lifted her face towards the group. She was fixated on protecting them, but for that, she had to convince them to not do anything reckless.

"I can defend myself. I am a Magic Knight of the Black Bulls and I am not fighting alone. This is why I told you earlier, if you hear any signs of fighting at any given point, you can't interfere. Trust us to protect you."

"If they think they can take anyone from us, they are the idiots! Like we would ever let that happen!" Magna yelled in frustration, his posture was rigid even as he leaned on the wall.

"We have amazing mages in this squad," Asta started. "We have gone through many hardships. We always fought together and we always won. This is nothing in comparison to other enemies we've faced." his smile was reassuring.

"Besides," Yami added. "If there are stupid enough to kidnap one of us, they are in for a whole new world of pain."

The spirits around the room lifted. Oriana was always the one to be worried, thankfully, the other members of the Black Bulls were there to counter balance her worries with hope. The ones that always helped her find peace in the worst of times,

"Changing subject," Noelle intervened, her arms crossed around her chest. "I have been thinking about the coincidence that the mage you fought also had swords, Oriana."

"I didn't think much of it, but you're right. There are more and more mages using swords made of their own mana." Oriana bit the inside of her cheek. "I've seen air blades, Captain's katana and Asta's black swords. But it was the first time I've seen swords made of electricity. And it was awful. It stinged my arms and face every time they clashed with my blades."

"The other magic person had a sword made of electricity?" Kageyama blurted out. "That's really cool."

Oriana lifted her brows at that statement.

"There is absolutely nothing cool about it. And it's a mage, for fuck's sake."

"Language." Sugawara advised.

"How do you use your swords, Oriana?" Yamaguchi leaned forward in his seat.

"Yeah, spill the magic tea!" Nishinoya said, his voice filled with energy.

"Spill… the tea?" Vanessa repeated in a mumble. "Why would she want to spill tea?"

"I don't know." Finral shrugged. "She doesn't even have a cup of tea to spill."

Oriana internally laughed at their confusion. Sometimes she forgets that internet slang wasn't a thing in the North. She understood the terms, but never got used to applying them in normal conversations. Despite that, she considered using the words she did comprehend every once in a while. The confused faces of the mages in the room were absolutely hilarious to her. Oriana turned her attention to Yamaguchi's question.

"I use them…. uhm…" her voice paused as she struggled to find a way to explain something that came so naturally to her. "They appear like woosh. And I go slash and swoosh." she explained as she swung her arms in different directions.

"Oh, I get it! That's totally awesome!" Hinata showed off a toothy grin and had stars in his eyes.

However, Sugawara had a dumbfounded expression, like most of the group,

"She is just like them…" he commented.

The Karasuno boys nodded along as Oriana continued to tell stories about their previous minor fights.

"Oh, once Vanessa tied her strings around my waist and I went spinning towards the enemy and hit them in the head so hard they couldn't evade and immediately fainted."

The juniors' mouths hung open with her re-telling.

"Like a fidget spinner?" Nishinoya asked.

"Yes, kind of like that!" Oriana agreed. "Then they had to catch me because I didn't know how to land." she laughed.

"What's a fiddlet spinner?" Vanessa wondered. "It's nothing weird, right?"

"It's actually a fidget spinner and, uhm, don't worry about it!" Sugawara pleaded. "It's nothing bad, it's just a random gadget so to say."

"They surely know some… interesting words." Finral commented.

"It's just some informal ways of expression. It's all in good fun." Suga assured.

"I'm curious." Asta interjected. "What do you guys do in the South?"

The question made Hinata and Kageyama smile and jump from their seats.

"We play volleyball!"

There was a moment of silence.

"What's that?" Magna was the first to question.

The boys gasped in surprise, then they turned to Oriana and Sugawara. They averted eyes from one to the other.

"There's no volleyball here?!" they asked in shock at such a possibility.

"Now that you speak of it," Oriana started. "There aren't any kind of organized sports in the Clover Kingdom. Kids play with balls and such, but that's about it."

"That sounds like a nightmare." Kageyama said with a dark expression.

"Can you show us?" Asta begged.

"I guess we could. What do you say?" Daichi turned to his friends.

"I brought a volleyball with me!" Hinata exclaimed and immediately ran towards the bags left at the entrance.

"Of course he did…" Tsukishima scoffed.

"You're joining us, right?" Daichi asked Sugawara.

"It's been a while… I'll try my best!"

This was how both the Karasuno boys and the Black Bulls mages ended up in the courtyard under the sun, rushed by Asta who was always the curious one and Hinata who was excited with the prospects to play.

"Oh, and also," Daichi turned to Oriana and Suga. "We learned a few tricks while you were gone."

"Let's see those little tricks of yours!" Sugawara advanced to the team.

With sticks they found around, the group settled the boundaries for the court. There were arguments about the actual size of the court, mainly between Kageyama and Tsukishima, but eventually the task was done and the only remaining thing was to split the teams.

Yamaguchi was the one who explained the basic rules to the mages before the first game began.

"Oriana will be the referee." Suga boasted.

"Me? I guess I could" she turned around to the group. "Very well. Noelle and Asta, help me keep up with the team's points. I'll tell when you add each point."

"Okay!" Asta agreed.

"I'm royalty. Don't order me around. But I'll help." Noelle said before she walked to Oriana's right side, Asta was on the left.

After the game began, Oriana would peek behind her shoulder. Her Black Bulls family was impressed by the kids' speed and precision and gasped everytime Kageyama and Hinata used their special attack. The excited commentary between them made Oriana giggle. Even to people with magical abilities, those kids were nothing else than notorious.

"You guys want to try?" Sugawara asked after the first set was over. "We promise to go easy on you."

"I want to play with my new friends." Gordon mumbled under his breath.

"How am I supposed to appreciate my lovely Marie while playing with a ball? I have no time for this. I'm going to visit my angel."

With this, Gauche bid his farewell.

"Well, I'm down. Although it's not my first time playing." Oriana said with confidence.

"Let's make this interesting," Captain Yami started as he puffed a cloud of smoke. "Black Bulls vs the South kids."

Magna, Gordon, Asta, Noelle and Zora agreed to give the game a try. On the other side, Daichi, Kageyama, Hinata, Tsukishima, Nishinoya observed their competitors with smuig smiles. The mages looked not less confident themselves. They had no idea what they had put themselves in. The teams were so uneven it made Oriana cringe.

With that in mind, Oriana sauntered her way to the Karasuno team.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zora boasted.

Oriana peeked over her shoulder.

"They're missing one teammate…" Oriana's voice was filled with innocence, but her eyes glinted with mischief.

"So are we. It's six right?" Zora rested one hand on his hip. "Get your ass over here."

Oriana bit the inside of her cheek.

"But I don't wanna lose!"

"Like we would lose!" Magna yelled.

"I'll play on this side." Asahi said as he joined the Karasuno side.

The betrayal was visible on Oriana's features.

"If you lose, I'll kill you!" Captain Yami warned.

As she was left with no other choice, she joined the Black Bulls team. Who was slaughtered for all the four sets they played. The only points they made were off the mistakes the other team made. From Oriana's perspective, their team play wasn't that awful, but her team had absolutely no idea of what they were doing. And Sugawara was one harsh referee. Oriana was only proud of Zora that mimicked a setter dump Kageyama did on their third match. He was the only one cunning enough to attempt something like that right on the setter's face and no one saw that one coming. It was an epic moment received with cheers. In the end, Oriana's face was still chagrined from the slaughter.

"Bitterness is an ugly flavor on you." Tsukishima commented as he peered to Oriana under his glasses.

"Get lost." Oriana's bluntness didn't faze the blond.

"Didn't you get enough of losing just now?" he sneered.

"Sounds like someone wants to sleep with the Captains beasts." she replied.

"Like they would let you do that."

"Try me, bitch."

"Language!" Sugawara yelled from afar.

***

A/N:

Believe it or not, this was NOT the longest chapter I've written. I checked, hahaha.

I had so much fun writing this. I literally had a smile on my face the whole time, even editing it. But I might have cursed myself with these many characters. It's going to be so hard to manage all these personalities, how do they do it, help. If some names are not mentioned in future chapters, please have mercy on me. There's a a lot of people and some don't have that big of personalities like the ones that I do mention often.

Have you guys watched the first episodes of the Spade arc? I have a few thoughts about it, but I am genuinely terrified of Black Clover fans, so I will keep my mouth shut. Don't come for me, please and thank you.

One last thing, I have put some thought into it and decided not to write a third installment of this fic and follow the Black Clover plot like I once suggested. If I did that, it wouldn't make sense for this story to be a cross-over if the Haikyuu characters were to vanish. Besides, I have been told by my friend who reads the manga that Zora isn't present on this arc. It just wouldn't make any sense to continue it. This said, have fun reading Oriana's story because this is most likely the last installment. Doesn't mean I won't ever write fics with these fandoms again, though!


	4. What's with the trees?

The waters of the ocean are scary. The darkness and coldness of it made it unwelcoming. The sensation of drowning, the impossibility to make any sound. The lips part, but the yells don't travel through water. The desorientation of it all.

Thankfully for Oriana, she didn't have to wake up to the vast lonely ocean. A light shined and guided her back to solid ground. One voice was enough to wake her up. One spark was enough to make her skin tingle.

The sheets weren't cold anymore, they were warm when Zora layed next to her and embraced her body as he pulled it closer and closer to his own. He was so selfish. He wanted all the sheets, all the covers and the warmth he found in Oriana. Not that she minded, quite the opposite. His slow, repeated breaths on her neck were peaceful. Her nails traveled the skin of his back. Slowly, they traced small circles and random patterns. His fingers pressed against her back, a little tap. A longer, heavier breath hit her neck before Zora leaned further into Oriana.

"Good morning." her silver voice was filled with slumber.

Zora groaned against her neck in response. After Oriana left a feathery kiss on his temple, Zora released her from the embrace and spreaded his arms and legs on his half of the mattress. He laid on his back with his eyes closed. His bare chest rose and fell lazily. Oriana shifted to lay on her stomach.

"Are you ready to kick some royal ass?" his voice was lower than usual.

"We have to do a good job today," Oriana stated. "After Yami's showdown yesterday, we have to live up to that."

It had been two days since the Karasuno boys arrived in the Clover Kingdom. They were just in time for the tournaments the Wizard King organized. With Marx's magic, the tournament was transmitted all around the Kingdom as an attempt to reassure the citizens that the Magic Squads were ready for the war coming. It was favorable for both sides. The participants got to show off their habilites and reassurance grew among the citizens. Two birds with one stone. Or three birds, if one was to count the fact that it was one more way for the Wizard King to watch incredible magic and find out what new things his underlings learned since the last tournament over two years ago.

The previous day, the Captains made the honours in an authentic showdown and demonstration of power. Their underlings could never reach that level, but the hype was unfathomable. Especially after Captain Yami ended the whole tournament unexpectedly with one single swing of his katana. Everyone would be watching the Black Bulls on that day because of that. It was the Magic Knights turn. Squad versus squad. The Karasuno boys were amazed by the battles, it was like something out of movies or anime they watched at home.

"If it's like last time, they are nothing but a bunch of whiners and snobs. Bark but no bite, as usual." Zora commented.

"Everyone has been training hard these last months. Not just us."

Zora lifted a brow, but his eyelids remained closed.

"Are you doubting us?"

"Never."

Oriana was sure her father would be watching the tournament in the comfort of his own palace. She was determined to show him what she can do in the Magic Knights ranks. That she didn't need the crown or the royal blood in her veins.

Besides the Magic Squads, no one else knew about Oriana's true identity. It was confidential information, not to come out to the public. How embarrassing would it be for the Royal family to have one negligent child. How shameful of Dulce Calmreich to ditch her responsibilities to the crown. To turn her back on the Kingdom. It was always on the back of her head, those thoughts clinged to her, but she tried to move along everyday to prove she was not fit to be anyone's Queen.

***

She bit the inside of her cheek while she waited for the rest of her peers to get ready. It was almost time. Only some members of the squad were participating. The teams were restricted to five peers. Not a doubt that straws had to be pulled to decide on the participants. Everyone wanted in, even Grey despite her shyness. They were eager to test their newest abilities with other mages. In terms of power and strength, there were no worries. Any of the Black Bulls wizards were powerful enough to participate, because of that, it didn't really matter who was chosen, they were sure to shine. Or else Captain Yami would kill them. Because of this, they relied on luck. In the end, Oriana, Zora, Luck, Finral and Noelle were the fortuitous.

The following morning, Asta and Magna were the ones who were still grim about the decision.

"C'mon Luck, let's fight for the spot!" Magna shouted, desperate for that spot.

"Nah. You'll lose anyway." Luck chirmed.

"What did you say, you bastard?"

Oriana was also approached by one supplicanting Asta.

"Oriana?"

Once she whirled around, Oriana was faced with Asta's puppy eyes and the most serene tone of voice he had.

"No, I'm not giving my place."

"Please?"

Those big, green pleading eyes stared back into hers. She never had the structure to deny anything to her juniors, but none of them understood how important that tournament was to her. Her pride was also on the line.

She dropped her shoulders as she sighed. This gave the poor boy a glint of hope.

"I'm sorry, Asta. We pulled straws, fair and square."

"Oh, man! This sucks!" his voice filled the room.

"Where's Finral anyway? I'm royalty. Who does he think he is to make me wait?" Noelle huffed.

"Did I hear my name being summoned?" Finral made his grand entry with a blissful look on his face. "I'm sorry to make you wait, my ladies. Rest assured, nothing horrendous will happen to your magnificent faces as I am to protect you."

Oriana and Noelle shared the same absent face.

"Are you going to open the portal or what?" Oriana asked bluntly.

"Hurry up, I have better things to do:" Noelle spitted with her stern tone.

"Right away…" Finral was defeated. "You both realize I have seniority, right?"

His grimoire glowed by his side before he lifted his hand. Oriana didn't even have the time to shift her weight to the other leg, as the portal opened to the arena.

"Good luck everyone!" Vanessa waved goodbye.

"Do your best out there!" Daichi grinned at Oriana and lifted a thumbs up.

"You better kick some ass, you hear me, Luck?" Magna yelled with such temper that even his glasses slid down to the tip of his nose.

Noelle was the first over, then Luck and Zora. However, before Oriana had the chance to step over to the other side, her senses made her turn around and lift her palm in front of her. The fabric of Hinata's shirt met her hand. Behind him, Kageyama collided against Hinata's back and Kinoshita collided against Kageyama's.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To see the tournament." Hinata raised his voice to an almost angelical tone.

"You can watch it here."

"But that's no fun!" Kinoshita complained.

"We want to see the action in person!" Kageyama said, headstrong.

"It's too dangerous. Absolutely not." Oriana's voice was strict..

"Kinoshita! Kageyama! Hinata!"

Daichi's severe tone froze the boys in place and turned them obedient. Oriana thanked him with a nod before she stepped into the portal.

As soon as Finral stepped behind Oriana and closed the portal, the whole squad was greeted,

"The Black Bulls arrived." Marx announced. "We can start the tournament."

"Isn't she?" someone among the crowd of colourful robes spoke out loud and was promptly commanded to speak in a lower tone.

Then, the whispers began.

"The Heiress is here?"

"How is this fair? We can't hurt her! We'll be beheaded for treason:"

Oriana's eyes darted from side to side. As the whispers became louder and deafened any other sounds. She swirled around herself as she tried to pinpoint the voices, but she couldn't, because they came from all around her.

When she took out the lucky stick that granted her a spot in the tournament, she never imagined that scenario. She participated in the last tournament too and none of that happened before. It was different then. Previously, she was no more than a member of the Black Bulls and known as Oriana White. However, at the second tournament, she was Dulce Calmreich to everyone around her. The Heiress to the Clover Kingdom.

"If you bunch of cowards have a problem, why don't you come and say it to her face, huh?" Zora boasted and the whispers subsided. "What kind of Magic Knights are that you can't even respect one of your own?" he gave steps towards them with a malevolent demeanor. Apparently you've learned nothing!"

And he would've continued if Oriana didn't stop him.

"That's not necessary!" Oriana said. Her hand pressed Zora's chest and pushed him back. "We will win anyways. It doesn't bother me." she lied.

Zora's vicious glare softened into a despising side eye. He crossed his arms across his chest and fixed his attention to the field of battle.

Oriana almost fell too fast, barely with no time to prepare. She tripped as soon as she set foot on the arena. It could be dangerous to let her mindset be affected by such idle voices.

Everyone waited for the fallen remains and everyone prayed for the end of times. In that circle of vultures, she had to prevail. Everyone wanted to be the one, but Oriana was born for that. She was ready to do whatever it took to prove to everyone that she earned her place on the Black Bulls Magic Squad, regardless of any other titles.

"The first match," a man announced. "Will be between the Crimson Lions and the Black Bulls."

"This won't be easy…" Finral mumbled under his breath.

"The Crimson Lions are strong!" Luck cheered as he assumed a fighting position and started to parry with the air. "Can't wait!"

"They will win this whole thing because of her." a random voice got Oriana's attention.

With that, Oriana lifted her chin and spread a scowl around her. As soon as she spotted the unique red hair of Leopold Vermillion in the crowd, Oriana balled her hands into fists and made her way over to the boy.

"Oriana? Where are you going?" Finral questioned as he moved to grab her shoulder.

"Let her." Zora said.

People opened a path for her without the needs for words. Leopold glanced in her direction undaunted, as expected of him. Oriana halted her step and extended her relaxed palm to him. She wasn't his friend, but they fought many battles before as allies. They both recognized each other as strong wizards. If Leopold Vermillion showed his respect for Oriana and fought a fair battle against her squad, the other competitors would be at ease. It was her theory.

"We won't be holding back." Oriana opened a confident smile. "You shouldn't either."

Leopold let out a scoff and proudly held the Heiresses gaze in his own.

"Never planned on doing so." he pressed his palm against hers for a moment as they shook hands.

All eyes were set on the interaction and gazes followed Oriana as she retrieved her steps back to her team. That should be settled. Among the crowd, Oriana caught a glimpse of pink in her peripheral vision. As she peered to her right side, her friend, Sugawara, lifted his palm in her direction. The focus in his eyes, it was not only a friendly challenge, but the wish to confront her in the tournament. Encouragement. Oriana smiled at her friend. She clasped her hand against his.

Whatever it took.

***

All her life, Oriana had been broken and pieced back together countless times. She grew used to being invisible, due to all the time hiding from her family, but her name was back to everyone's lips. There was adrenaline in her veins. She would do whatever it took to break her Royal chains.

As soon as the signal was given, Oriana and Luck launched themselves at an immense speed towards the forest. The electricity from Luck's mana left a tingling sensation in her tongue and throat. The enhancement in her speed and power were almost impossible to control, Oriana had to keep her mind focused on her goal in mind if they wanted to win. It wasn't like the time a random group of fiends invaded their base. She couldn't afford to lose her cool.

Luck's presence was just a few meters to her left and they sped through the trees, evading any obstacle in their path.

Oriana barely had the time to sense the mana that came her way before she evaded the glowing ball of fire. That had to be Leopold's doing. As she approached the center, more and more balls of fire stroke and all came from the center of that immense mana wave she could sense only a few more meters in front of her.

From the center of the action, a circle of fire surrounded Leopold who had his palms pressed against the floor. One man used air bursts to guide the balls of fire in Oriana's direction and another man used a bronze weapon with a massive head to propel balls of fire towards Luck. A slim shadow was cast on them.

"Water Magic: Sea Dragon's Roar."

Oriana wrapped her bone prehensile tendrils around a tree trunk and used them to take on another direction. When Noelle's water attack reached its target, the temperature lowered to normal. If they were attacking right in the middle of the forest, it meant one of two things. Their crystal was either hidden in the forest closeby, or in the clearing on the other side.

"Excuse me, your highness, but I can't let you get away!"

One of the opponents followed her with the assistance of his air magic. Only then Oriana recognized Randall Luftair, the Vice-Captain of the Crimson Lions. One that was not to be underrated in battle.

"Air Magic: Explosive Air Wave Palm"

A large mass of air hit Oriana's back and threw her body against a tree. The intensity of the impact made her cough and gasp for air for a moment. With her knees and hands on the floor, Oriana jumped and hid herself in the greenery at the very top of the tree trunk. He wouldn't leave her alone that easily, she had to take him down.

She prepared herself, one of her electrifying tendrils aimed right below her branch. As soon as Randall stopped midair to search for Oriana, she cast a spell,

"Blast Battler: Electric Shock"

Randall yelled in pain when the thunder fell upon his body. Oriana didn't have time to check on his state. Her speed spell combined with Luck's mana allowed her body to escape the scene in a flash. Either Randall was out cold or he was still conscient. Even if the latter was to be true, he would need a moment to recover from the blast. She had to be faster. She took a deep breath and focused on the oxygen that filled her lungs and left through her lips.

"Assault Quasar"

The cells in her body moved so quickly, Oriana was able to flee through trees and branches without the need to evade. It would only last a minute, but she had to leave the forest and find the clearing. Follow where the light shines the brightest.

The blur that became of her body materialized when she set foot on the green grass. The trees towered behind her and nothing out of the ordinary came into view. That was until a boulder was thrown in her direction and she easily evaded it.

Oriana searched her right and found another member of the Crimson Lions as he standed in front of a wall of boulders. Was it too soon to assume one of those boulders contained the crystal? Oriana clenched her fists.

"Which one of those holds the crystal, I wonder?" Oriana said to the wizard.

"Already decided the crystal is here?" he remained unfazed and his expression didn't contribute with any hints. Then, he easily grabbed hold of one the boulders above his head and yelled with effort. "Let's see what Dulce Calmreich can do!"

When the boulder was thrown in her direction, Oriana used her tendrils to grab it. Sparkles flew at contact before the boulder was crushed.

"So, that's your magic." Oriana showed a close-lipped smile.

She sensed the mana that filled each of the boulders. They weren't caused by natural circumstances, the mage created them himself with his magic.

"Not bad." the man noted.

Oriana sensed another presence behind her. Luck zoomed into view from the tall trees and landed a few meters from her.

"Scanned the whole forest, the crystal isn't there." his voice was lowered by the adrenaline inside him.

"Noelle?"

"She's handling the Vermillion. I took out another guy."

"Me too, at least temporarily. That means there is still one who is missing." Oriana said as she fixed her gaze on the opponent in front of them.

"He could be with the crystal somewhere."

It was a possibility, but why was Oriana so fixated on those boulders. Their opponent had just created a couple more and established them nearby as they spoke. She had to test her own theory before she moved on. Oriana peeked a side glance to her peer. Luck was focused on the battle, but he was far from his sadistic state and remained collected until then.

"I have a hunch. Follow my lead for now." she whispered and Luck agreed.

"Are you going to just stand there and-" the man created another boulder above his head. He gritted his teeth while he spoke. "Ignore your enemy?"

He threw the boulder in their direction. Oriana's tendrils extended towards the incoming missile and wrapped themselves around it. Like before, the boulder broke under the pressure.

"You're missing a friend now. What has become of him? Guarding the crystal?" Oriana made a second attempt, with her chin tucked and a smug smile on her face. Maybe the man would falter.

"Do you expect me to tell you that?"

Oriana bit the inside of her cheek. It was leading them nowhere.

"Luck-" she started, but rising heat behind her back interrupted her chain of thought.

Both of them peered over their shoulders to see an incoming arrow of fire aimed right at them. A few meters away was the one who was missing from the Lions. Before they moved to evade or counter, another figure jumped between them and the arrow. A massive magic circle was drawn from thin air. Oriana smiled as she recognized Zora's red spiky hair and sensed his familiar mana Just in time.

The arrow hit the circle and a second later, a bigger and more destructive arrow emerged from it and flew in the enemies direction.

"Hey, everyone! It's done!" Finral waved at them as the portal behind him closed.

"About time!" Luck yelled.

"This is almost over." Oriana said. "Luck, keep the boulder guy busy, I want to try something."

"This is going to be good."

A smile plastered on his face, Luck hurried like lightning to spar with the enemy.

"Finral, open a portal for me."

Oriana whispered to where the portal was to lead and asked him to give Zora support as she could handle it from there solo. The enemy was to not notice her disappearance. All she needed was a couple minutes.

She jumped through the open portal and landed a few meters behind the mage with earth magic. All his boulders lined up between Oriana and him, however, hidden in the shadow of a bigger protuberance of the terrain there were three hidden boulders. One of them had to contain the crystal, she was sure.

"Velocity Rush"

As her body became lighter, Oriana flew at high speed towards the boulders and extended her tendrils of electrifying bones in their direction. Once in her grasp, the boulders collapsed. The one in the middle revealed the crystal. With one single well aimed whip of her tendril, the crystal broke in half and it was over.

The Black Bulls won the first round.

***

As the matches progressed, Oriana itched to get back on the field. Their next opponent was already decided and it wouldn't be a smooth feat. The Golden Dawn.

Most people would've already given up if they knew their adversary was the prestigious Golden Dawn. Most people were afraid of being atypical. Not Oriana, not anyone in the Black Bulls. Whatever it took, they had to win. With everyone's strengths and Finral's and Noelle's strategies, they could win.

Many were the words whispered among the crowd of wizards. Hypocritical. egotistical, apathetic. Oriana clogged her ears to those words after the first battle. She wanted to do something she could be proud of. Out of the tiny box her Royal family had put her on since her birth. That day, she would prove there was much more of her to see than just the Heiress. More than the product of the system. She would not fall. Her heart and her soul were a part of her more than any titles bestwon on her. Oriana was determined to not be judged on such simple terms, not when she was a complex creature.

Sugawara and the Coral Peacocks won against the Blue Rose Knights. The Silver Eagles won when they versed the Azure Deer. The Praying Mantis was also victorious against the Purple Orcas.

It was the Black Bulls turn once again. Oriana was ready to prove that more than a catastrophe, she was a masterpiece. The doubts in her skills were a thing of the past. The chains that held her back stayed in her childhood room. She would not let anyone define who she was ever again.

Like before, they were given ten minutes to prepare. Oriana had one job only and it would only start once the signal was given. Yuno and Mimosa were the only ones she could tell the names of. The others, she associated with compass magic, sand magic and gamble magic. Finral returned faster than last time and they had a few minutes to spare.

"Everything is ready." Finral said as he rushed to her.

"I hope this works." Oriana sighed as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"You don't have to defeat him. All you have to do is distract him."

"I know that." Oriana balled her hands into fists. "This is if he doesn't have the crystal himself."

"That wouldn't be smart of them," Finral started. He brought a hand to his chin in thought. "No one would give the thing they want to protect to someone in the front line of battle. They would trust it to someone who could protect it and focus on that only. Yuno will be coming for ours."

"Which is untraceable." Oriana finished.

Their conversation was cut off by the loud horn. Immediately, Oriana's grimoire floats by her side and she casts a spell.

"Bone Creation Magic: Combat Claw Electricity Mode"

Claws of bone grew from her wrist. Each finger of bone and sparkling energy surpassed the length of her own. Luck had shared his electric magic once again with Oriana. With the claws, the electricity was closer to her skin. It stinged her fingers and made her tighten them into fists. Then, Oriana closed her eyes. Yuno's mana was strong and emitted immense power. She was aware of her target within seconds.

"He's overflying the forest. Meet me on the edge of our side."

Oriana prepared herself for a high speed jump.

"Sure thing!"

"Velocity Rush"

Once in the air, Yuno became visible to Oriana. The only other person in the air besides herself. An awkward grunt escaped her lips with the effort of thrusting her claw onto the boy while at high speed. Yuno evaded it with a breeze. He wasn't fazed by the surprise attack, by his emotionless expression, he probably knew it was coming.

"Asta isn't here today," Oriana said as she continued a series of attacks. "I'll be your adversary this time."

"I'll take you on gladly." Yuno responded. "Wind Creation Magic: Wind Blades Shower"

A series of blades made of wisps of wind materialized around the boy. Without another word, Oriana was assaulted by every single blade at the same time.

"Bone Creation Magic: Morph Touch Electricity Mode"

The bone tendrils extended from the nape of her neck just in time to stop the blades incoming.

"What are you doing to Yuno! Leave him alone!" a high-pitched voice boomed from the middle of the blades. Oriana had to stop her tendril from almost crashing into the wind spirit and electrocuting her.

"What the hell?" Oriana grunted.

Before the wind spirit reached her, Oriana evaded and her tendrils extended towards Yuno. As soon as he was wrapped up in them there was an electric discharge. Oriana threw him to where she sensed Finral's magic. Once the boy was to get serious, Finral would be the best support Oriana could ask for. As much speed as she has, nothing beats Space Magic.

The Wind Spirit's cries for Yuno followed Oriana. When they arrived at the crashing point, Yuno was stumbling to his feet. Oriana landed a few meters from him. Whether it was close combat or far reaching spells, both of them excelled. It wouldn't matter how they did it.

"Don't tell me that's all you've got!" Oriana yelled, a smug smile grew on her face. "C'mon, come at me with everything you have!"

She wasn't sure what convinced the boy. Maybe it was how focused she was, maybe it was how determined she was. Or the crave for victory in her eyes.

"Sylph, let's do it."

Barely a mumble, but enough for Oriana to hear in the silence of the field. Her smile grew when Yuno combined his magic with the one of the Wind Spirit.

"Wind Spirit Magic: Spirit Dive"

His whole left side glowed a soft green tone. One single wing appeared on his back and half a crown rested on his head. Finally, he dug out a sword of wind from his grimoire. The adrenaline in Oriana grew as she changed spells herself.

"Bone Creation Magic: Fourth Blade Electric Mode"

Her blades were covered in electricity and the speed spell still rushed in her.

"You're not alone." Yuno stated.

"Well, you have your own. It's fair, no?"

"It doesn't matter, really."

"We'll see about that." she said as she rushed her right blades to strike against his.

Sparks of electricity flew from every beat of their swords. He was agile with his only blade, but Oriana had blades on both hands and the electricity plus the velocity spell. When Yuno blocked one of the attacks, Oriana put all of her strength into the swipe on her left arm to his head. With the grace of the wind, he retreated. It was a chance to catch their breaths. Oriana's throat was dry and her shoulders were killing her. Electricity mana took a toll on her. It was so much more destructive than fire and so much harder to control.

Before Oriana had time to lunge towards him again, a shadow was cast on the field between them. A structure of vines towered from the middle of the forest. From the tip, energy was being gathered as it created a blinding light. A cannon that would fire at any second.

Yuno took that cue to jump high in the air and started to make his way towards it, but Oriana would not be left behind.

"Finral!" Oriana screamed.

"Go it!"

A portal opened in front of Oriana and she flew in with no hesitation. She was immediately faced with Yuno on the other side. She thrusted her sword forward and Yuno blocked it.

"You're not going anywhere!" her voice strangled by the pressure between their blades.

Yuno glared at her with dissatisfaction. Once again, he retreated.

"I would dodge if I were you." Yuno warned. "Wind Spirit Magic: Spirit Storm"

An immense air pressure gathered at the palm of his hand before it shot a powerful attack towards Oriana. Too turbo and blinding for Oriana to evade, too powerful for her to block. There was only one another option. For her favor, Luck's electricity had to be stronger than Yuno's wind.

Oriana poured Luck's electricity into her blades and swung both of arm towards the blast that approached at high speed. This created four waves of uncontrollable electric force. When both elements collided, they created an explosion of sheer mana and energy. The pressure from the collision hit Oriana and even as she blocked it with her blades, it was more than she could take. Eventually, she broke under the pressure and her body was thrown away from it. For a few seconds, Oriana closed her eyes as her consciousness melted away. As soon as she sensed the descent, she snapped back into reality. She had to cast her velocity spell again. Her blades were also gone.

When she peered over her shoulder, towards the ground, she percepted the brightness of one of Finral's portals right under her. When she passed through it, her body hit the floor with a stud. She let out a cry of pain.

"Oriana! Are you okay?" Finral ran towards her.

"Where 's Yuno?"

Oriana's eyes darted from one side to the other. As she swung her head around, there was a strong sting in her temple.

"Shit." Oriana said while she held her head.

The other hand she used to support her weight as she got back to her feet. It couldn't end like that.

"Take it easy! That was an ugly explosion. You could have a concussion."

"I'm fine."

Suddenly, the loud, annoying signal that commenced the battle broke through the trees and filled their ears once again. Then, the announcer's disembodied voice echoed,

"Golden Dawn's crystal was destroyed. The Black Bulls win the round!"

Oriana's shoulders dropped and her whole body finally relaxed. Her head wasn't even hurting that much anymore.

"They did it!" Oriana cheered.

"I'm so glad that worked." Finral sighed.

With all the joy in her, Oriana lifted one palm towards her senior. Finral showed a gleeful smile before he slapped his palm against hers.

"Oh, but are you okay?"

"I think so. It only hurt at impact."

"Even so, you should see the doctor before the next round. Maybe you don't feel it now because of the adrenaline, but you could be hurt."

Oriana couldn't help herself from smiling at her comrade's concern. She would comply, just so Finral didn't have to worry.

***

The doctor discharged Oriana after only ten minutes. She had nothing more than minor injuries, but the doctor made sure to remind her that she had been lucky. One of those friendly advice to not repeat the stunt. However, if any way shape or form, that insignifcant sacrifice granted them the win, she would do it again in the next match. All the way to the victory. There was too much she had to prove to herself, to her father and to the other Mgic Knights.

On her way back, she stumbled upon her team who were on their way to check up on her.

"How's the head?" Zora asked with one hand on his hip.

"It was nothing. I just had minor injuries."

"What do you think your recklessness will achieve?" the disapproval was clear in his voice.

Oriana altered the weight of her body to the other leg and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I just said it was minor injuries. And I did nothing wrong."

"I heard you were planning to stop a blast with another blast. On what earth is that a good idea?" Zora reprimanded.

"How about a situation where I couldn't dodge or block? You would've done the same."

"I would've got the hell out of there."

"There wasn't time."

"If there was time for you to counter, there was time to evade."

The tension between them grew at every come back. The adrenaline from the fight was gone, at that point, it was frustration that fuelled Oriana.

"Guys," Finral called. "We are still here."

Both snapped a head at the rest of the group. Oriana cleared her throat.

"Who are we facing next?" she turned her shoulder to Zora and faced the rest of her teammates.

"Are you seriously going to ignore me?"

"Coral Peacocks!" Luck beamed. "They put up a notable fight in their last battle. They have grown strong."

"Their vice-captain is on the team. He means huge trouble." Finral scratched his chin.

"And he's a pain in the ass." Zora commented.

"He'll probably congest the field with cherry blossoms again," Noelle started. "He will be able to tell where all of us are and even the crystal's position."

"We can just keep it buried, like we did the last rounds. No one has been able to figure us out yet." Luck said.

Despite how strong their vice-captain was, the group was over-seeing one other strong competitor among the other team. Only Oriana understood how capable Sugawara was and she had not seen anything yet. She cleared her throat before speaking,

"It's not going to work this time." her words caught the others attention. "We haven't been found yet because everyone assumes the crystal is somewhere hidden above the ground. No one expected us to hide it and leave it there unprotected. However, if the Coral Peacocks vice-captain figures out the crystal is not anywhere he can sense it, Sugawara will use his vines underground and find it. We won't have time to dig it out before he destroys it."

"That's problematic." Luck crossed his arms in front of his chest.

The group fell into silent thought. Both above and underground were the other teams' domain.

"What if we counter the petals with ash?" Zora suggested.

"That's a solid start, but not good enough." Finral said. "I haven't asked this of you yet, but I will need you to set some traps."

"Doesn't one of the mages on the other team have trap magic as well?" Noelle questioned.

"Too many traps and visual perturbation will turn the field into a mess. We will only make it harder for ourselves as well." Oriana said as she clenched her fists.

"It's best to keep the crystal above ground and close by. Even if they can find it." Finral had an assertive tone in his voice.

"I agree." Oriana nodded her head. "We can use Noelle's water cradle like we did before and Zora could layer it with a counter trap."

"In that case, the crystal should be with Finral." Noelle spoke. "If there is a pinch, you are our fastest way out."

"I'm okay with that, but I need someone with me. I can't protect it by myself."

Oriana glanced around the group, some of them did the same. Everyone had to have a role, that's how they managed the last rounds.

"Luck should definitely keep zooming around the field and search the other crystal." Finral started. "Zora was our stealth man while hiding the crystal and searching for the other, but if Vice-Captain Kirsh knows where you are, so there's no point. It's between the three of you." he browsed Noelle, Oriana and Zora's faces.

"Oriana, are you getting too much lash-back from the electricity mana?" Luck asked.

"It was starting to be overwhelming, but ever since the doctor treated my injuries and revitalized me, I feel just fine. We can do it again."

There was an agreeing nod between both.

"It's decided then. Luck and Oriana search for the crystal. Zora, Noelle and me keep our ground and protect ours." Finral stated.

"What if they can't find the crystal?" Noelle asked. Her brows furrowed in preoccupation.

It was a possibility that none of them wanted to ponder. With the petals that were sure to swarm the field, it would be possible to pass the crystal without notice. There was still the chance they would be hiding it underground as well.

"We regroup and protect our crystal at all costs until time's out." Oriana said.

"Or we knock everyone else out." Luck suggested.

"Maybe you should just find the damn thing." Zora spoke. "We are counting on you two to do it."

"Whatever it takes." Oriana mumbled.

***

Even if the bone tendrils carved a path, it was hard to see anything besides the pink petals. It went exactly as they predicted. As soon as the loud signal broke the air, the field was covered in cherry blossoms. In the first ten minutes, Oriana saw nothing besides pink. No crystal, no enemies and no allies. Her vision was totally pink.

They divided the search ground right in the middle, but Oriana wasn't sure if she was still on the right side. After another five minutes, she was lost in a sea of petals. Even if she wanted to regroup, she didn't know where to go. However that wasn't enough to make her waver, she had to go on. In a sharp turn, Oriana hit something invisible. The impact created a ricochet. In front of her, a bright orange magic circle appeared mid air and a spider web of vine roots fired from it. The vines enveloped Oriana's body and trapped her. Her descent to the ground was a quick one, she made sure not to fly too high.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Oriana shouted while she struggled with the vines.

With no time to waste, she used her tendrils of bone and electricity to tear the vines apart and immediately got back to her feet. As she gathered her surroundings she understood how lost she truly was. The petals messed up with her mana senses as well. They should have agreed on some sort of signal to showcase their position in case this happened. Too late for that.

If there were traps with vines, that should mean that at least the trap magic mage and Sugawara stayed behind to protect the crystal. And if there were traps at all, it probably meant she was getting closer to it. Oriana clenched her fists with might before she cast her velocity spell.

Even if they didn't win thanks to her, she had to at least do something she could pride herself in. Something that showcased the belief her friends put in her. Accomplishments that would grant her a vital place in the Black Bulls and among the Magic Knights. If Oriana showed her worth, there was no one left to question her position and high regard. No one besides her manipulative father.

Not before long, Oriana hit another trap. Just like before, vines trapped her body and she fell to the ground. She must be close.

"Again? For fuck sake." Oriana complained.

"Language."

That warning was familiar, however it carried more of a self-righteous tone than usual. Besides, there was only one person that reprimanded her manners of speaking. Oriana torned the vines with her tendrils and rushed to her feet. In the path she created, stood Sugawara with the crystal enveloped in vines close to him.

"Look at that, you found me," Oriana gave her friend a smug smile. "And brought me a present."

"I sure did. Come and get it!" Sugawara said before he thrusted his palms to the ground. "Flora Magic: Flora Sprout"

A wave of green vines advanced in Oriana's direction. Promptly, she cast a spell of her own.

"Bone Creation Magic: Combat Claws Electric Mode"

The voltage that charged her bone claws easily cut through the vines as she advanced to Suga. As soon as he was within reach, Oriana grabbed his shoulders and tackled. His back pounded on the ground. Her grasp in his shoulders and legs locked him in place. Sugawara had nowhere to go.

"Go ahead. The crystal is at your disposal." Suga's voice strangled.

"How stupid do you think I am?"

She freed one of his shoulders and swinged her arm towards the crystal. The electricity wave liberated by the claw hit the crystal and it exploded. Pieces of vine fell to the ground and the crystal was nowhere to be seen.

"Good job. But I would watch your head if I were you." a disembodied voice warned her.

In reaction, Oriana lifted her head, but instantly hit another magic circle. Smoke showered both of them. Sugawara found his opening to push Oriana off him.

The smoke was fast to dissipate, however her vision was no less corrupted due to the petals. The two mages faded out of her view, but she sensed them close by. There was no point in running away if they would just chase her, although they would never catch up to her. But the crystal had to be close.

"Over here!" the strange voice came from directly behind her.

The other mage thrusted a magic circle to her face. Oriana ducked just in time to avoid an explosion that burned the cherry blossoms and created an open terrain around them. Even Sugawara was visible then. Oriana kicked the mage's legs from under him and he fell next to her. She barely had time to stand before vines restricted her arms and legs.

"Tough luck." Oriana said before she discharged a volt of electricity through the vines.

Luck's mana was powerful and Oriana didn't want to fry her friend. Just enough for the vines to limp and free her. Sugawara tried not to, but the cries of pain escaped his lips. Oriana's breathing stopped for one second in her worry, but she had to focus on her objective.

The man was gone from under her. He didn't go very far, he was still in the open terrain. He had a defensive stance towards Oriana and looked in distress. Droplets of sweat streamed down his face as he gritted his teeth. Just behind him, Oriana sensed a focus of mana. Another trap. By the way the man was acting, that had to be the crystal.

Whatever might the cost be, Oriana would show the whole Clover Kingdom that their Heiress was better fitted with the Magic Knights.

Oriana advanced to the mage. She ripped the air between them and he dodged her claws. Finally, she managed to hit him in the head with the back of her bone fingers which sent a charge of electricity through him.

When her adversary had fallen, Oriana got rid of her claws and casted the spell for her tendrils once again. With the force of one blow, the spell broke and revealed the crystal. However, vines caught her ankles and dragged her to the floor. Sugawara was determined to not let Oriana complete her mission. Even when her body was yanked from the floor and was thrown high into the air, in the midst of the petals, Oriana let out a battle cry,

"Not just yet!"

Her tendrils extended further than ever before. It applied immense pressure to her own bones and cries left her lips. She would be the word in everyone's lips for the right reasons. Without the chains, she would reach the top, nothing could stop her.

The whispers of the Magic Knights crowd filled her head again. However, she yelled lowder.

The tendrils layered the crystal and smashed it to pieces. What happened next, Oriana wasn't expecting. It didn't shatter like it should. Instead, vines fell with a thud on the ground under the tendrils pressure.

Her eyes widened. It was a fake too.

Right after, the signal filled her ears. It ringed inside her brain and clinged. It resonated in all of her anxieties and shook the inside of her chest.

"The match is over! Coral Peacocks are the winners!"

The vines caught her wrists and gently landed Oriana on the ground upright. Around her, the petals started to fade and the air cleared. Despite that, she still found it hard to breathe. Her tendrils disappeared and her knees gave out. The fists clenched on her lap. So close to her own glory.

A hand was extended towards her. She glanced at Sugawara. He couldn't hide the victory from his expression, but his smile was tender towards his friend. His eyes showed thankfulness and respect.

"Thank you," Oriana said as she took his hand. "For not going easy on me."

"Of course not. We wanted to win like everyone else." Sugawara pushed Oriana to her feet.

Even after her loss, Oriana smiled, filled with pride for her friend.

"I'm glad I lost you. Now win this damn thing."

"Leave it to me."

It fell on her like the night falls on the day. The final match between the Coral Peacocks and the Praying Mantis was blurry to Oriana's eyes. Her sense of worthlessness became bigger than herself, but that was no place to show weakness. Especially when so many eyes were already on her.

She brought one of her clenched fists to the rim of the hood of the black robe and pulled it over her head. With a lowered head and hidden face, she let the emotions revolve in her features. All the frustration. All the things she wanted to shout, but couldn't. Oriana bit the inside of her cheek when the first tear streamed out of her eyes. She had to control her breathing so the sobbs wouldn't catch anyone's attention, but there was no stopping her quivering lips or how slowly her body started to droop forward.

Everything she had in herself wasn't enough. Maybe it would never be. Her father was right, how foolish did she have to be to believe she would rise as a Magic Knight. In her enormous, extravagant room and cold walls. That's the only place she would be worth anything at all. To receive the crown was her duty as a Calmreich.

The first match she was lucky. She barely held her own against a teen prodigy on her second match. On the third, that's where everyone found out how much of a fraud she was. Oriana truly believed she would stand tall, but that was her true self. Weak. And the voices only got louder in her head as the tips of her fingers became numb.

Only one voice could be louder in her mind. The voice that cleared a path of light in the midst of her desperation. A voice she recognized. It was Zora's.

"No one did any mistakes. It wasn't about that." he said, his gaze didn't leave the match. "We were outskilled. Their strategy was better. Nothing we could do about it."

"You don't know that for sure. You weren't there." Oriana's voice was strangled by her own frustration.  
"I wasn't there with you, idiot. But I was on the same damn team as you. And so were these guys. We all wanted to win." his tone softened with the last sentence.

Oriana peeked from under the hood to her squad mates. Their faces were grim and sour. Zora hid it better, but just like her, he was frustrated.

"Stop crying and put a smile on. Your friend is going to win this. Be happy for him."

One deep breath. He was right, she had to get it together. Her shoulders dropped after she cleaned the tears from her cheeks. With her head held high, Oriana swooped the hood from her black, sweaty hair. Her lips in a straight line. Her eyes were no longer filled to the brim.

"That's my girl." Zora whispered.

His hand reached for hers. Their fingers interlaced and held each other with comfort.

Just as Zora predicted, Sugawara and the Coral Peacocks won the tournament. Oriana cheered in genuine joy that her friend fulfilled their promise. She didn't lie when she affirmed that if she had to lose, she would rather be to Sugawara. It wasn't the perfect scenario, but it was the next best thing and Oriana had to be content with that.

That was a night for celebration. That part was already assured, for that reason, Oriana told Suga to bring the rest of the Karasuno gang to the Black Bulls hideout that night and they could celebrate all together. The invitation extended to Suga as well of course, but that he had to decline. He would celebrate with his squad, but assured everyone else would be at her door by night fall. Oriana immediately imagined that Suga would provide some directions to the kids and send them on their way. It was a long way to walk. It sucked to be them.

As soon as Oriana and the rest of the group set foot on the Black Bulls hideout, they were greeted with cheers and some young, too enthusiastic and energetic teenagers.

"That was so cool!" Kageyama shouted.

"You guys are like, really super cool! I wish I could use magic as well!" Hinata yelled.

While Hinata and Kageyama had starry eyes and shouted nonsense, Tsukishima was his salty self.

"Too bad it wasn't enough for you to win." he snarked.

"Tsukishima!" Daichi reprimanded harshly.

"Today is the day you sleep with Captain's pets." Oriana spitted to the boy.

"Let's calm down now…" Yamaguchi put himself between the two, palms raised peacefully.

They glared at each other, until Oriana got distracted by her junior.

"Your spar with Yuno was something else! Can't believe that handsome jerk got so strong. I have to get even stronger!" Asta gritted his teeth, determination fired his eyes.

"I did have a little help." Oriana nudged Finral lightly. "I would've fallen to the trees if it wasn't for Finral."

"That did look dangerous. Were you okay?" Daichi's gaze browsed across Oriana's figure. "You aren't hurt, right?"

His protective instincts kicked in before Oriana could stop him.

"Don't worry. There was a doctor there and he took care of us before we left." Oriana reassured.

Daichi's brows furrowed, his eyes clinged on Oriana's.

"Are you sure?"

"She said she's fine, didn't she?" Zora hanged one arm across Oriana's shoulder and leaned his head down menacingly.

"What are you even doing?" Oriana whispered to him.

"You five idiots," Captain Yami's voice interrupted all the interactions and attention turned to him. "I watched the tournament-"

"Wait, you were watching us?" Finral questioned.

"He acted disinterested, but didn't take his eyes off the screen." Vanessa whispered to the group as she leaned towards them.

"He yelled quite a lot as well." Magna pinched in.

"Interrupt me again and I'll kill you!" the room fell into silence with the threat in his voice. He puffed smoke as he mumbled something, then continued. "As I was saying, I watched the tournament. Even though you didn't win like I told you to," there was a pause. Oriana started to sweat. "Every single one of you surpassed your limits and went beyond your capabilities once again. Be proud of that and good job today." he took another drag of his cigarette.

After every important mission, that line was what kept the spirits up, even after a loss. Exactly what Oriana needed every time. She smiled and tried to keep the emotions inside or she might have bursted out crying right then and there. Not with the same frustration, but from the relief that came over her with those words.

"Now let's head outside, the meat is waiting!" Captain Yami cheered and Charmy joined him.

"I feel so much better when Captain gives us praise." Finral sighed with a hand over his heart.

He probably spoke for all of them, even if some wouldn't admit to that.

"Your captain is a scary man, but he's more compassionate than he seems." Kinoshita commented.

"Of course he is!" Magna jumped to his captain's defense. "His the respectful Captain of the Black Bulls!" he boasted.

Oriana studied Zora's face. He also looked satisfied with the Captain's words, despite the mask that hid most of his features. One glance at him was enough to read his mood. He placed one hand on her head, his thumb caressed her hair.

"See how there was nothing to worry about?"

Her smile grew. In the installed chaos around them, in those moments with Zora, she couldn't hear anything else besides her beating heart. A path so clear it was impossible to ignore.

"I know that now… Sorry if I freaked you out."

Zora scoffed.

"You're going to need more than that to freak me out." he said.

His tone was his usual mock, but Oriana read the words between the lines. She had to fight the urge to hug him. At that time and place, he would just brush her off. She had to keep that for later, it was time to celebrate after all.

***

With a filled belly and simple smiles and laughs all around, the Black Bulls and the Karasuno Volleyball team joined in the common area as they shared drinks. As much as Vanessa tried to offer some to Kageyama and Kinoshita, Oriana was attentive to her fellows actions and stopped her every time.

The space was crowded and thrilled with energy. They had already done it all, the talent show demanded by Captain Yami as usual, Charmy's amazing food and the energetic group of teens brought some level of blithe to everyone's face.

"Me and Tanaka were thinking!" Nishinoyas' voice boomed over the others.

"Sure, I would like to see that." Tsukishima scoffed.

"Shut it, let me hear!" Hinata said.

"We've seen almost everything about the Clover Kingdom, it's time to bring some of our traditions into this party!" Nishinoya raised from his seat and puffed his chest.

"Oh? I'm so excited, tell us more!" Asta pleaded.

"Absolutely nothing good will come out of this." Oriana whispered to Zora and Vanessa, both sat by each of her sides.

"I don't know, this might be interesting." Vanessa said as she sat further into the couch.

Tanaka also raised from his seat and joined Nishinoya.

"I hope you are ready…"

"For our party games!" both exclaimed in unison.

"Called it." Oriana said. Her face was cheerless compared to the two clowns' cheeky smiles.

At that point, she wanted to be dragged out of there by some mysterious creature. When those two had some sort of idea, it always ended neck deep in shit. The Black Bulls looked curious, but to everyone else, the fact that those two got the control of the night's entertainment was the worst that could happen.

It started with a round of Truth or Dare. Which just ended with Hinata and Kageyama competing in how many dares they would complete. They accepted no truths, only dares.

"Tsukishima, truth or dare?" Hinata's cheeky smile meant trouble.

"I'm not playing." the boy responded bluntly.

"Oh, are you scared?" Tanaka teased. "If it's so hard for you, maybe you should just go to bed early like a good boy."

That was enough to tick the blond.

"Truth."

Oriana scoffed at his sudden change of opinion.

At some point Vanessa dared everyone to do shots and it was best to call the game over before it got out of hand. In absolutely no world Oriana, Daichi and Ennoshita would let Karasuno boys have alcohol. They were lively enough as it was.

Then, the game Never Have I Never started. The youngest had orange juice instead of actual beer. They seriously didn't need the alcohol to act like they were drunk, they would pick the energy out of the rooms' atmosphere.

"This kind of defeats the point…" Tsukishima commented as he whirled the cup of juice in his hand.

"Just go with it!" Narita said.

"Never have I ever…" Nishinoya started. "Used magic. Now, everyone who has used magic before has to drink." he explained.

Oriana took a large gulp out of her glass. She was going to need it. By her side, Vanessa was still drinking.

"The point is to drink a gulp or a sip! Not the whole bottle." Oriana said. "You'll get wasted extremely quickly otherwise."

"Where's the fun in that?" Vanessa glanced at her before she returned the bottle to her lips.

"I think she is already wasted anyways…" Zora murmured.

"My turn," Tsukishima spoke and the attention turned to him. With a smug smile on his face, he held Oriana's gaze in a competitive demeanour. "Never have I ever held a sword."

Yami, Tanaka and Asta took a gulp of their drink. If that was the game he would play, Oriana was ready.

"Jokes on you, I don't hold any swords, they grow out of me." she showed a smug smile.

"Wait, you've held a sword?" Hinata beamed to Tanaka.

"A family heirloom No big deal." he waved the boy off with an obvious inflated chest.

"Never have I ever worn glasses." Oriana spoke.

Tsukishima and Kiyoko took a sip.

This altercation went on for a while during the game. If no one else had a suggestion, Oriana or Tsukishima would have something to make the other lose. However, Oriana didn't calculate the fact that her beverage was alcoholic, unlike the blond's.

"Never have I ever had one eye of each colour."

"For fuck sake," Oriana retaliated. "Never have I ever slept with the Captain's beasts."

"None of us has done that." Finral pointed out.

"Oh, I think that is about to change." Oriana glared at Tsukishima.

"No cheating now. I believe you have to drink." he responded.

The smug smile made Oriana's eye twitch. She took one last large gulp of her drink and stood up way too fast. She blinked once, then twice.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go there and, I don't know, hit a tree." her voice dragged more than usual, but her tone was assertive as ever. "Finral, when they want to go back, open a portal for them. Please and thank you."

Promptly, Oriana shuffled from the tight space. She would let the junior win, but only because at that exact moment, she had to put every last resort of focus she had into walking in a straight line to the hideouts hallways directed to her room.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go there and, I don't know, save a tree." Zora repeated her speech before he followed her step.

"You both know the trees are outside, right?" Vanessa's shouts echoed in the corridor.

"Be careful of the rageous beast!" Captain Yami teased.

Who cared if it was a graceless exit. If it wasn't for the ale she drank, Tsukishima would have a fist on his mouth by the end of the game. As soon as she was out of sight, Oriana let her feet drag on the stone floor and her shoulders dropped. Zora's shrill laughter followed her through the corridors all the way to the rooms. Oriana didn't understand what was so comical.

***

A/N:

Random someone: How many Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons references are you going to make?

Me: Yes.

This is, without a margin for doubt, the longest fanfiction chapter I have ever written. It took forever to write and FOREVER to edit. It's literally 2am where I live, I'm not even joking. And I still want to plot for my actual WIP. Team night owl. Because it's been so long since I have last posted a chapter on this fic, there is so much I want to tell you.

First of all, I saw one of those dynamic posts on instagram with one of the pairing is hissing while the other sprayed them with water for them to stop. And if this dynamic isn't Oriana and Zora, I don't know what is. I laughed so hard.

I can't believe I just forgot half the shit I wanted to say why am I like this.

Since I'm dumb and I forgot, have you heard Black Clover anime is going to stop and the mangá got cancelled? Am I ever glad I decided to not continue this series with the Black Clover canon plot. That would've sucked.

I'm sorry if the battles are lack luster. Oriana and Sugawara are the only characters I gave powers to, everyone else are Black Clover characters and only the creator can understand the true potential and limitations of his own characters. Wiki pages will only get me as far as learning their magic spells names. Also, if I don't remember some character name at the time I'm writing or editing, neither will Oriana. I am not about to google everyone's name. They are just too many.

Other things I wanted to say I actually forgot, so hum, I guess that's it. I'll work on my WIP now.


	5. She's an angel

Oriana narrowed her eyes to the corridor. How many doors had she passed by then? Surely, her instincts told her to halt her stumbles. That door was it. Her room. However, a presence loomed behind her the whole way there.

"Quit following me!" Oriana demanded, an accusatory finger pointed at Zora.

The man leaned closer to her.

"That's my room, idiot." he said before he flicked her forehead and caused Oriana to step backwards.

"What was that for?"

"You're drunk!" Zora boasted. "Get your shit together."

"I'm not drunk…" her voice lowered. Her eyes looked away from Zora's. "Just a little tipsy."

"Like I'm supposed to believe that."

"That's the point of drinking games!"

"Let's just put you to bed."

Zora swinged open the door to his room and Oriana followed him inside. While Zora turned on the oil lamp and unclasped his mask, Oriana made a beeline to the bed and plopped on the mattress, stomach and chest first.

"Seriously? At least take the shoes off."

Nothing. Oriana ignored him and closed her eyes. Zora grunted something under his breath before he made his way to the woman in his bed. Oriana's boots were taken off and her robe slipped over her head. Before she knew it, she was under the covers. Still conscious of her surroundings, even though her lids were closed, she could tell when Zora turned off the lamp. The movements on the mattress signaled an incoming Zora. Sure enough, he was already laying next to her.

Her lids were heavy, but she still managed to take a glimpse at the figure next to her. The curtains blocked any of the moon light to illuminate the inside, but she could make up the traces of his bare chest as it lifted and lowered with the pace of his breathing. As her eyes got used to the darkness, Zora gained a more nitid body.

For some reason, Oriana caught herself thinking of her mother. That was unusual, she normally wouldn't reminisce about her. In fact, she barely had any memories of her. Oriana was barely six when her mother passed away with sickness. Many were the times Oriana wished her father was the one to die instead. Even if she didn't remember much, there was one thing she was sure about. Her mother would never put any of her daughters through the abuse their father did.

When she died, Oriana heard the cleaners whisper about Finesse's insomnia. It was also around the time her sister became weaker and more frail. About ten years later, Oriana escaped the dark halls of the Clover Castle and deemed her sister to a life in solitude with the helpers of the Castle and their father. The King lived in a wing so far from them, it was like they didn't live under the same roof. The first years after her escape, Oriana carried that blame. Who knew what kind of abuse Finesse was suffering under their father's clutches. However, last year, Oriana learned that her sister was, in a way, better off. Her worries were foolish, Finesse was nothing like Oriana, after all. Her older sister was a proper royal, with manners and calm nerves. A gentle smile on her face and a kind heart. The sickness turned her into a frail woman more than a delicate one, but even so, she was still wished by many Royal families. What Oriana understood of that situation was that she was promised to Finral's brother, whatever his name was. Despite that, Finral had been paying the princess casual and often visits. Two brothers in a competition for her sister. Oriana would like for Finesse and Finral to be together. Or, at least, understand more of their relationship by talking to her sister again. However, for that matter, Oriana would have to travel to the Clover Castle and that was absolutely out of the question.

"Why are you awake?" Zora's voice jerked Oriana out of her daze.

All that time she spent staring at the man beside her.

"Can't sleep." Oriana murmured.

"What's the problem?"

That was when he turned his head to Oriana.

"It's not a problem. Just thinking, that's all."

"About…?" Zora tried to encourage her to continue, but the silence fell between them. "How about we play a round of that stupid game?"  
In the dark, Oriana lifted a brow.

"You want to play?" she asked, with Zora's confirmation, she continued. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"No." Zora said.

"Well, fuck. Now what?"

The shrieks of his laugh filled the space between them. The covers moved when he shifted under them. He slid an arm under his pillow and turned his body to face Oriana.

"How about I go first?" Zora suggested. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What were you thinking about?"

"How creative." Oriana scoffed. There was a short pause. "About my mother. And my sister."

"And inevitably your father." he concluded with a nod of his head.

At that point, her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. His features were clear as it was his furrowed brows.

"Truth or dare?" she asked.

"My turn is not over."

"What do you mean? Of course it is."

"Truth or dare?" he insisted.

"You're the worst." Oriana whispered exasperated.. "Truth."

"What a chicken." Zora sneered. "Do you want to kiss me?"

Oh, it wouldn't be that simple. Not when he skipped Oriana's turn.

"Dare."

"I dare you to kiss me."

As he made his play, he also started to lean in closer to Oriana.

"Never have I ever-"

"That's not the game!" Zora said in a muffled yell which made Oriana laugh.

Without warning, she pressed her hand on the back of his head and pulled him in. It was a light peck on his lips at first. Then, their lips melted together in a soft kiss. Zora's hand traveled to her waist, his fingertips sneaked under her shirt. Oriana pulled away and spoke,

"Since we are into talking," she was interrupted when Zora caught her lips on his.

"Nope, we're done talking." he said between his feathery kisses.

Before Oriana could do anything else, she was already enveloped by his arms.

"This is serious!" Oriana whispered.

"It better be." he sighed, but his arms didn't let her loose.

"Stop harassing the kids. They are already wary of Captain Yami and Magna. Not you too."

"That's it? I'm going on ahead." he leaned for another kiss, but Oriana avoided his lips.

"You dared Nishinoya to stay quiet for five minutes."

"I'm just messing with them. I do that to everyone."

"Well, go easier on them." her tone was serious and assertive.

Zora sighed again.

"I will decrease my level of harassment. Are you happy now?"

Oriana didn't respond, instead, she cupped his cheek and leaned in for a passionate kiss.

***

When Oriana woke up the following day, her forehead was pressed against Zora's chest and her mouth was drier than any desert on the South side of the planet. Beer is all good and fun until you drink rivers of water the next day to rehydrate the body.

She barely had any time to gain consciousness or to even process what happened next. Out of nowhere, the door to the bedroom slammed open and two annoying presences interrupted the couple's personal and peaceful time.

"Rise and shine!" Asta's voice yelled.

"Chop, chop cool masked jerk! Time to train!" Magna boasted. "Oh shit."

Oriana jerked her head in their direction speechless.

"What the hell are you two half wits doing here! Get out!" Zora yelled as his head jerked from the pillow. His arm shielded Oriana's back from pry eyes.

His grimoire flew towards him, ready to blast off the intruders.

"I'm so sorry!" Asta blabbered just before he shot the door closed.

Oriana blinked once. Twice. Then her body dropped back to the sheets.

"I can't believe that just happened." she said against Zora's chest.

It hadn't been five minutes since she was awake and already heat raised to her face. She dug her face deeper into his chest as a way to hide her flushed cheeks.

"I'll teach them a lesson later."

"Why didn't you lock the door?"

The question dragged on with all the pout she was putting.

"I had to take care of you, so I forgot!"

Eventually, once both calmed down, Oriana and Zora got up and got ready for their day ahead. The pure embarrassment turned Oriana's stomach upside down. She could only fathom all the stupid things those two already said to the rest of the squad. And the Karasuno boys. That was it, she would walk straight back to bed, if only Zora didn't drag her out of his room.

Her hands clenched by her sides and she couldn't stop herself from biting the inside of her cheek. Their way to the dining hall was more like a walk of shame.

Then, her shoulders dropped. She was being silly. Everyone already knew they were a couple, it was obvious to anyone who glanced at them for more than two minutes. Okay, probably not. Even so, everyone in that hideout was an adult, most of them anyway. No one in the squad would be surprised, at least not after the first hand shock. And Zora was one scary looking guy, the Karasuno boys wouldn't dare to say anything.

Oriana's hopes drenched once she recognized who she was dealing with. Back to the clenched fists.

"Would you relax? It's not a big deal." Zora spoke.

"It's like we don't live with the same base." Oriana mumbled.

"You're overreacting."

Was she? Maybe Zora would change his mind upon entering the dining hall to get some breakfast.

Everything was immediately weird with the silence settled in the hall. Not a peep once the two of them arrived. The awkward environment was absolutely unbearable once they sat down next to each other. Luck was on Oriana's right, Vanessa sat in front of Oriana. Next to Vanessa was Magna on one side and Grey on the other. What misfortune that would be. Oriana could barely chew her breakfast in those circumstances.

Asta's heavy steps interrupted the clinks of the cutlery. If it was something to be relieved about or not… well.

"I'm very sorry for barging in without a warning. I promise it won't happen again." the boy bowed his head to both Oriana and Zora.

Zora glanced to Oriana as an encouragement to deal with their junior.

"Just forget it ever happened, okay?" Oriana dismissed him with a peaceful wave. "We don't have to talk about it. Ever." she saliented the last word.

"Really? Is it really oka-" his sentence was interrupted by a surprised cry.

A stink bug landed on Asta's hair and promptly the boy shook his head until the bug jumped back out.

"Apologies don't change what happened. Never come to my room again, shrimp."

Asta was a little busy with the bug to respond. And Zora took matters into his hands after all.

There was another moment of excruciating silence., but didn't last long as the younger ones started to be more energetic on the table next to Oriana's. She could finally have her breakfast in peace.

"So," Vanessa started, mischief written all over her face. "Hitting trees, huh? Lovely metaphor."

Oriana had to control herself from spilling the oatmeal in her mouth back to her plate.

"Seriously, you two, the two of you, uhm, have to lo-lock the door or somethin…" Magna stuttered, his sentence died by the end of it. He looked down on his own plate of oatmeal.

"What were you even doing?" Luck asked restless. "Were you fighting?"

"Close enough." Vanessa responded.

"Can all of you shut up for once in your life?" Oriana blurted out.

"Honestly..." Zora sighed. "We fuck. Get over it."

"Not you too…"

Oriana prompted one elbow on the table and hid her face from pry eyes with her palm while she continued to spoon her oatmeal. The faster, the better because she could just zoom out of that situation.

"Awn, Oriana is so cute when she is all flustered." Vanessa hummed.

"So embarrassing." Grey's voice trembled behind the palms of her hands.

"At least some of us are getting laid in this squad. We're not a bunch of loners anymore!"

It was like Vanessa to cheer for something like that.

"Oh? What are with those manners?" Tsukishima scoffed behind Oriana. It was exactly what was missing for the ultimate humiliation. "That is no posture to eat at the table."

"Leave! Me! Alone!" Oriana shouted.

***

Thankfully, the day went by fast. With training and patrols, Oriana didn't have to worry about that morning's incident. She would forget it ever happened, but it also made a hilarious story to tell Sugawara. Just like he read her mind, or maybe he sensed it, Suga planned a dinner with the whole Karasuno gang in his favourite restaurant in a town nearby his squad base. Something about how the group needed a real opportunity to catch up.

The man wasn't wrong. They have been hanging out with the other mages in big groups, but the intimacy to share the most important news and stories was still missing. That atmosphere needed the whole group. Sugawara's words. They truly shouldn't waste the communication devices for such matters, but oh well, what their superiors didn't know, wouldn't hurt them.

Also, it made an excellent opportunity to escape the embarrassment from that morning. Just for that day, at least.

"Are we there yet? I'm hungry!" Hinata whined.

"Shut up for a minute, idiot." Kageyama said.

This made Oriana laugh.

"I believe we should be almost there. I've never been there myself, so it's just a guess."

Daichi walked by her side with a vigilant eye to the restaurant's name while the other boys stayed behind and admired the streets and the different kinds of magic performers and stand workers were using. Or whining about food.

"I heard of this restaurant before from Finral and Asta. Apparently the food is wonderful and the staff is pleasant."

"That's good to hear." Daichi said. "Is it any different than Charmy's food?"

"There is no place on this Earth where you will find food like Charmy's." Oriada stated matter-of-factly.

"Lucky! You get to eat it all the time."

"And she always makes little lunches and snacks if we are going on a far-away mission. She's so nice and adorable."

"I've never seen her training though. Are the sheep all her magic can do?" Daichi wondered.

"Her sheep are basically undestroyable. Besides, you've only seen the small ones. And there's more to it, but I only heard Asta talking about it once a long time ago."

At the end of the street, there was a big group and the recognizable pink robe from the Coral Peacocks standed out. They were nearby a friendly building with stairs leading up to the entrance. A wood banner signaled the name of the restaurant they were looking for.

"There they are!" Oriana pointed ahead of them.

"You are late!" Sugawara yelled from a distance.

Before they climbed the stairs to the restaurant, the group circled up for a chat.

"I hope we are not causing you too much trouble with this." Asahi said while he scratched the back of his head.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be working, something?" Tsuskihima asked.

"We might be Magic Knights, but we also get to have a life!" Sugawara defended.

"Besides, you could consider that we are patrolling this specific restaurant. And our presence puts the town at ease." Oriana pointed out, but her tone wasn't serious. Her words were questionable and some recognized that. "Also, Zora would kill me if he heard me say that, so don't tell him."

"Okay, now we are just wasting time. C'mon, let's go inside." Sugawara rushed everyone up the stairs.

"He seems more restless than usual." Kiyoko murmured behind Oriana.

She peeked over her shoulder to Kiyoko and Yachi by her side.

"That's true, he's been all over the place ever since he started planning this get together." Yachi said.

"You think there's something wrong with him?" Oriana wondered.

"Isn't it like he's nervous about something?" Yachi questioned. "I'm a pro at that, so I can recognize it from a mile away."

Oriana glanced up the stairs again. Sugawara was no longer in sight as he entered the building already. She just had to make him spit out the truth.

As the minutes passed, it became more and more obvious. Sugawara was one stuttering, blushing, nervous wreck. But it was when a red haired waitress came to their table for their orders that he made the biggest fool of himself. While some on the table were still deciding, for some reason, Suga tried to make conversation with the woman.

"Do you-Do you come here often?" his voice stuttered.

"Well, I work here. So I think I'd have to say yes." she said simply.

Oriana hid her laughing face behind the menu, by her side Asahi did the same. Sugawara was left speechless and just made him blush even harder. One could mistake him for a tomato at that point.

Once the waitress went back to the kitchen, Sugawara sighed.

"What was that all about?" Daichi asked by his side.

Sugawara looked nervous again.

"Absolutely nothing. Just trying to be nice to the girl, that's all." he waved his friend off.

"Holding everything in doesn't help, you know." Oriana said.

She spoke in experience. Hidden feelings and unspoken words never did her any favours. If anything, they caused more trouble than she ever would've wished for.

Sugawara glanced at his friend on the other side of the table. Oriana nodded in encouragement. At that point, the whole table was silent awaiting Sugawara's response.

First, he murmured something too low for anyone else to hear. Daichi slapped his back and told him to speak up.

"I have a crush on her!" Sugawara admitted.

"Her?" Kageyama repeated.

Question marks surrounded the table, until they finally figured it out.

"Oh!" Oriana exclaimed as if a light bulb lit up in her head. "The waitress!"

"Will you be quieter? She might hear you!" Sugawara said in a muffled shout.

"You should tell her!" Tanaka's voice boomed, way too passionately.

"Did you not see how I already made a fool of myself?"

"That's why he wanted to come here in the first place." Asahi laughed.

"Sugawara just wanted some encouragement to confess! We are here for you." Oriana reached out to his shoulder with a afable smile on her face.

"Not true!" Sugawara responded. "My intentions were pure."

Oriana sat back on her chair.

"And we believe you." her tone couldn't be any less serious.

The red-haired waitress came back to the main area. Her eyes browsed the over the tables in search of clients who needed her assistance. A table asked for her and she immediately made her way over. Sugawara's gaze followed her step. When she passed their table, she glimpsed at him for one second and smiled. Then, she was gone.

Mischievous and proud smiles could be seen all around the table.

"You have a chance." Ennoshita showed a thumbs up.

"How are you going to tell her?" Kiyoko asked.

"You think I should? I don't really know her."

"Do you know her name?" Oriana questioned.

"Rebecca. But that's all I know about her."

"Very well, we need a plan." Daichi announced.

After some discussion, no one could get to an agreement. They only had until dinner time was over and it had to be that night before Sugawara chicken out. So, Daichi took control of the situation. He asked politely for a pen to another waitress who was passing by. She handed him her extra pen and Daichi handed it to Sugawara. He also took an open napkin and smoothed it on the table surface.

"What is this?" Sugawara asked.

"You are going to write all the things you want to to say to her in this napkin." Daichi encouraged.

He was hesitant, but complied.

"I don't know how this is useful, but sure."

Sugawara's brooding face eventually turned into blithe as he wrote sentence after sentence. More than a love letter, it was a whole document after five minutes of intense writing. One napkin might've not been enough, but Suga made do of what he had.

"He said he barely knows her, didn't he?" Asahi mumbled.

"Maybe she's his inspirational muse." Oriana sounded hesitant while saying that. She truly feared whatever Sugawara might've written.

"I think I'm done."

Promptly, Daichi snatched the paper from the table and began to read it.

"I didn't say you could read it!"

"We have to approve of it first."

"I want to read it next!" Asahi raised his hand.

Daichi's face was unfazed when he passed the napkin to Asahi. Oriana peeked over his shoulders and read the lines.

"Be honest with me. Is it bad?" Suga was still a nervous mess.

"I think you might be my soulmate…?" Asahi read outloud, one brow lifted.

"Do you think the moon is jealous of how pretty you are…?" Oriana also read a line. She blinked at it before she bursted out laughing with Asahi and Daichi. "It's the cheesiest thing I have ever read." she shouted between laughs.

Under the table, Sugawara kicked her ankles repeatedly, but she couldn't stop laughing.

"You said to be honest! Stop hitting me!"

Then, he punched Daichi's shoulder,

"You guys are useless!" frustration was notable in his voice while he retrieved the written napkin.

Before he knew it, Ennoshita grabbed hold of the paper.

"Dude, this is a bit overkill. You're going to scare her." he commented as he leaned on Sugawara's chair.

"I swear she's an angel and she deserves all the sweet and mellow words that exist in the dictionary!"

That didn't help the situation whatsoever as his friends continued on with a laughing fest.

***

A/N:

I remembered what I wanted to tell you in the last chapter! Literally the next day it struck me and I was so annoyed.

So, when I watched the new opening with the dark triad, I noticed that the guy fighting Yuno had what looked like bones surrounding him. I didn't even think about it, just brushed it off. Then, in the episode where Yuno fights the dark triad guy (I don't remember his name, sorry about that), let me tell you I actually SCREAMED. HE USES BONE MAGIC LIKE ORIANA. And me thinking I was being sly because I never saw bone magic in the Black Clover universe. And I garantee you I don't read the mangá, so that really came as a surprise. I honestly was scared that I was breaking the worldbuilding rules of Black Clover and pushing it a bit by giving Oriana bone magic, but guess not. However, her powers are not connected to any devil, I promise, hahaha.

Speaking of the mangá, in the note in the last chapter, I told you I received news that the Black Clover mangá was cancelled. Apparently, that's not the case at all. I was speaking with the same friend saying that I would never find out what Zora has been up to since the mangá was cancelled and he was like "Not that I know of". I said he was the one who told me that mangá was cancelled and he shrugged it off, "What do I know?". I have no idea what he was trying to do, but there you have it.

We are getting to a point that I have to consider if the main ship is OrianaxZora or OrianaxCharmy's food. Somewhere in the Dishosnety series I turned Oriana into a foodie and I love that. And I had really great fun writing this chapter! I hope you had your fun too, because things are starting to twist and turn in the next one!

Good bye for now.


End file.
